Modification of low density polyethylene with allylurea

Abstract

Modyfikacja polietylenu ma³ej gêstooeci allilomocznikiemMODIFICATION OF LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE WITH ALLYLUREA Summary -Modification of low-density polyethylene (PE-LD) with allylurea (AM) by reactive extrusion in the presence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as radical initiator of the expected grafting reaction has been described. Modification has been done in order to increase PE-LD susceptibility to degradation in the environment. FT-IR investigations showed the probability of the intermolecular AM condensation during processing at the conditions applied (Figs. 2, 3). The changes found should not impede the process of AM grafting. The slip of extruder screw, caused by AM, has been limited by addition of silica (K) to the composition. Composition properties have been studied in wide range of concentrations of silica (up to 8 wt. %), allylurea (up to 8 wt. %) and peroxide (up to 0.6 wt. %). The material showing good breaking strength was obtained when silica content in the composition (equal to AM content) was 3 wt. %. Gel number of various compositions was also determined. The samples obtained at small amounts of DCP, up to 0.2 wt. %, showed required low crosslinking degree (Table 1). FT-IR analysis suggests the partial grafting of allylurea onto PE chains (Table 2).