Maleated isotactic polypropylene

Specialty waxes include polar waxes for more polar adhesive systems. Examples would be castor wax (triglyceride of 12-hydroxy stearic acid) or Paracin wax N- 2 hydroxy ethyl)-12-hydroxy stearamide) which are used in polyester, polyamide, or with high VA EVA copolymer-based systems. Other common polar waxes are maleated polyethylenes, which are used to improve the specific adhesion of polyethylene-based adhesives, and low molecular weight ethylene copolymers with vinyl acetate or acrylic acid, which are used to improve low temperature adhesion. High melting point isotactic polypropylene wax (7 155°C) and highly refined paraffin wax (7,n 83°C) are used where maximum heat resistance is critical. Needless to say, these specialty waxes also command a premium price, ranging from 2 to 5 times that of conventional paraffin wax. 

The isotactic polypropylene (iPP) was supplied by FiberVisions, Georgia, in the form of homopolymer pellets with a melt flow index of 35g/10 min (230 °C, 160 g) and a density of 0.91 g cm-3. The reinforcing filler was rice straw fibril and fibril aggregates (RSF) obtained from rice straw pulp fiber (Taonan paper and pulp company, Jihn ptrovinoe. North-east of China) that was cut to pass a screen (room temperature and relative humidity of 30%) with holes of 1 mm in diameter by a Willey mill before treatment. The maleated polypropylene (MAPP) was used as compatibilizing agent and Epolene G-3003 P has an acid number of 6 and a molecular mass of 125 722. 

Grafting of MA on both isotactic and atactic polypropylene has been studied under a variety of conditions.Maleic anhydride, maleic acid, and monomethyl maleate have also been grafted to polypropylene by a thermal process at 325°C. Mechanochemical modification of both atactic and isotactic polypropylene may be accomplished by blending polymer-anhydride mixtures in laboratory mills with peroxide initiators. Mechanochemical grafting can also be brought about by using peroxidized polypropylene. Extraction studies clearly showed grafting was achieved.An additional reaction of MA with isotactic or atactic polypro-... 

Even after organic modification of the clays, polypropylene does not wet the surface of clays because it is nonpolar. It is necessary to blend in a functionalized polymer such as maleated polypropylene (PP-g-MA) that wets the modified clay surface more readily and is also miscible with the bulk polymer. Okada and coworkers were the first to produce polypropylene layered silicate nanocomposites by melt compounding the modified elay with PP-g-MA and PP. The progress made since then in preparing and characterizing polypropylene layered silicate nanocomposites is reviewed in this chapter. We discuss advances in formulations, preparation methods and characterization then proceed to effects of the dispersion state (intercalated vs. exfoliated) and of silicate loading on crystallinity, mechanical performance and other properties, and end with a summary of progress to date with these composites. All the results presented in this chapter refer to isotactic polypropylene nanocomposites with layered or smectite clays. 

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