Synthesis of long-chain brached polypropylene

JORGE A. GUAPACHA; JONATHAN BARBOSA; LIDIA M. QUINZANI; MARCELO D. FAILLA

Mar del Plata

Simposio; XVI Simposio Latinoamericano de Polímeros; 2018

Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología en Materiales (INTEMA)

Generation of long chain branches in the molecular structure of lineal polypropylene (PP) allows to improve the strain hardening. In this work, long chain branched polypropylene (bPP) is synthetized by a continuous process in a pilot-scale extruder. Materials are characterized by gel chromatography permeation (GPC), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and melt rheology. The grafting reaction shows a decrease in molecular weight, and subsequent increase due to molecular cross-linking in the branching process, and IR spectra analysis confirms the presence of imide groups in bPP by the formation of more complex structures. Finally, the elongational and shear rheology verify the increase of elasticity and the improvement of melt streght in the bPP due to the presence of long branches.