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Adhesion of maleic anhydride functionalized polyolefins and blends
Author(s) -
Tse Mun Fu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.39855
Subject(s) - materials science , maleic anhydride , tacticity , polyolefin , adhesion , polymer , polypropylene , polymer chemistry , crystallinity , polymer blend , composite material , copolymer , chemical engineering , layer (electronics) , polymerization , engineering
We study three new classes of olefin‐based polymer, low‐molecular‐weight homopolypropylene (LMW‐hPP), syndiotactic‐rich polypropylene (srPP), and random propylene polymer (RPP). RPP is a random propylene/ethylene copolymer. By blending LMW‐hPP with 20 wt % of a maleic anhydride (MA) functionalized srPP (MA‐srPP) or MA functionalized RPP (MA‐RPP) instead of a commercial MA‐iPP (maleic anhydride‐ grafted ‐isotactic polypropylene), adhesion to a polar substrate, such as polyester (Mylar), is greatly enhanced. Effects of crystallinity controlled by either stereoregularity or comonomer incorporation and molecular weight of these MA functionalized propylene‐based polymers on adhesive performance are discussed. To further understand the mechanisms of enhanced adhesion, Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) spectroscopy is used to evaluate the migration of MA‐srPP in LMW‐hPP towards the interface when contacting a polar sapphire substrate. It shows that the buried interface between the LMW‐hPP/MA‐srPP blend (wt ratio = 80/20) and sapphire has the same characteristic spectrum as the MA‐srPP/sapphire interface, suggesting the enrichment of MA‐srPP in the interfacial polymer when the blend is in contact with sapphire. Also, vibrational modes of C=O have been detected at both the blend/sapphire and MA‐srPP/sapphire interfaces, further indicating that the interfacial polymer contains MA groups. Besides Mylar, adhesion to the non‐polar iPP substrate is also studied. The adhesion mechanisms to these polar and non‐polar substrates are explained in terms of our adhesion model. Applications of these MA functionalized polyolefins and blends are envisioned in the tie‐layer and adhesive areas. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131 , 39855.