Tetrahydrophthalic (THA) and maleic (MA) anhydrides were grafted onto linear low density polyethylene with comonomer 1-butene and 1-octene (LLDPE) in solution in the presence of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) following experimental designs, where anhydride and BPO concentrations, type of comonomer and reaction time were varied. The formulations were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In the case of THA modified polyolefins, the time of reaction and the interaction between time of reaction and THA concentration influenced the process, whereas the MA and BPO concentrations influenced the grafting of MA onto polyolefins. THA and MA modified polyolefin samples with similar grafting contents were analized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). THA and MA functionalized polyolefins presented reduction in the melting temperature of 4.3 °C and 1.4 °C, respectively, comparing with the original polymer. These effects corroborate with the strong reduction in the areas of the diffraction peaks (110) and (200) after the grafting process.
polyethylene; anhydride; experimental design; X-ray diffraction; differential scanning calorimetry
