Modification of low‐density polyethylene by graft copolymerization with maleic anhydride and blends with polyamide 6

Modification of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) hyperbranched grafting with a maleic anhydride (MAH) was carried out using corotating twin screw extruder in the presence of benzoyl peroxide. The LDPE/polyamide 6 (PA6) and LDPE‐g‐MAH/PA6 blends were obtained with a corotating twin screw extruder. The melt viscosity of the grafted LDPE was measured by a capillary rheometer. The grafted copolymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy The effects of variations in temperature, PA6 loading, and benzoyl peroxide and MAH concentration were investigated. The results show that most MAH monomers were grafted onto the LDPE at a lower MAH concentration. With the proper selection of the reaction parameters, we obtained a grafting degree higher than 4.9%. Mechanical test results indicate that the blends had good interfacial adhesion and good stability of the phase structure during heating, which was reflected in the mechanical properties. Furthermore, the results reveal that the tensile strength of the blends increased continuously with increasing PA6 content. Moreover, the home‐synthesized maleated LDPE could be used for the compatibilization of LDPE/PA 6 blends. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010