Grafting of maleic anhydride onto polypropylene by reactive extrusion

Abstract Maleic anhydride grafting onto polypropylene was conducted in a twin‐screw extruder according to an experimental design in which the maleic anhydride and peroxide concentrations were varied. The modified polypropylene was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, melt‐flow index measurements, size‐exclusion chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The results showed that only the independent variable peroxide concentration influenced the amount of reacted maleic anhydride, whereas the two variables studied influenced the molecular weight of the grafted polypropylene. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 2706–2717, 2002