Chemical modification of isotactic polypropylene by melt blending

The branched polypropylene (b-PP) was prepared by melt blending process with initiator, antioxidant, and functional monomers to improve the melt strength through the melt grafting. The melt flow index (MFI) of the b-PP was increased with increasing the initiator content. On the introduction of the alkylamine as the branching agents the MFI of the b-PP was increased, while that of the b-PP with the pentaerythritol triacrylate (PT) was decreased. It may be caused by the chain scission of the i-PP backbone due to the reduced thermal stability of the i-PP on the melt blending. The MFI of the b-PP without the antioxidant was increased due to the chain scission occurred during the melt processing, while on the introduction of the antioxidant, the MFI of the b-PP was decreased. The crystallization temperature of the b-PP was higher than that of PP, which was attributed to the branched chain structure. It was found that the PT was the most effective functional monomers for enhancing the melt properties of the b-PP.