Isoprene−glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) copolymers (3%−4% GMA) were prepared by two reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) techniques (nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP) and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT)) in one-pot emulsion polymerization as precursors of polar/functional polyolefins obtained after copolymer hydrogenation. The maximum level of hydrogenation obtained using a palladium acetate catalyst was 68% for an NMPsynthesized copolymer; the RAFT copolymers proved more difficult to hydrogenate, apparently because of catalyst deactivation caused by the RAFT agent, reaching 19% and 33% hydrogenation with the Pd acetate catalyst and with a Pd(0) catalyst supported in activated carbon, respectively. The copolymers (before and after hydrogenation) were successfully tested as compatibilizers for 80/ 20 (w/w) Nylon-6−polypropylene (PA6/PP) blends, showing that the NMP copolymers exhibit the best performance, especially after hydrogenation. The copolymers were characterized by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the blends by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that the strategy used to obtain polar/functional polyolefins is promising and should be relatively easy to scale-up, compared to other processes.

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