Reactive Modifiers for Polymers

Chemical modification of polymers by reactive modifiers is no longer an academic curiosity but a commercial reality that has delivered a diverse range of speciality materials for niche markets: reactively grafted styrenic alloys, maleated polyolefins, super-tough nylons, silane modified and moisture-cured polyolefins, and thermoplastic elastomers, are but few exam­ ples of commercial successes. Although the approach of reactive modification of polymers has been largely achieved either in solution or in the solid state (through in situ reactions in polymer melts), it is the latter route that has attracted most attention in the last two decades owing to its flexibility and cost-effective­ ness. This route, referred to as reactive processing, focuses on the use of suitable reactive modifier(s) and the adoption of conventional polymer processing machinery, an extruder or a mixer, as a chemical reactor, to perform in situ targeted reactions for chemical modification of preformed polymers. This relatively simple, though scientifically highly challenging, approach to reactive modification offers unique opportunities in exploiting various reactive modifiers for the purpose of altering and transforming in a controlled manner the properties of preformed commercial polymers into new/speciality materials with tailor-made properties and custom-designed performance for target applications. Such an economically attractive route constitutes a radical diversion away from the traditional practices of manufacturing new polymers from monomers which involves massive in­ vestments in sophisticated technologies and chemical plants. There is considerable interest within the polymer industry in developing methods to modify existing polymer systems to achieve improvements in their functional or engineering properties. The chemical treatment of polymers, either prior to or during processing, represents an inexpensive and rapid way of achieving these modifications, and a great deal of research is underway, directed at improving both the understanding of the processes involved and the development of the practical techniques employed. The improvements obtained by chemical treatment range from subtle alteration of the chemical properties of a polymer to wholesale changes in the physical, mechanical and chemical properties, with the current favourable economics ensuring that industry will continue to exploit the technique in the search for improved polymer materials.
Written by an international team of authors, drawn from both basic and applied research programmes in industry and academia, and with a strong emphasis on the underlying chemistry, this book forms a timely, concise and accessible evaluation of the most promising technologies developed to date.
Chemists, technologists, materials' scientists and engineers working in all areas of the polymer industry, along with academic researchers in those fields, will find this book an essential source of reference in the course of their work. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Free-radical grafting of monomers onto polymers by reactive extrusion: principles and applications....Pages 1-83 Modification of polypropylene by organic peroxides....Pages 84-132 Blends of polyamides and maleic-anhydride-containing polymers: interfacial chemistry and properties....Pages 133-162 Modification of polymer melts by oxazolines and their use for interfacial coupling reactions with other functional polymers....Pages 163-195 Moisture cross-linkable silane-modified polyolefins....Pages 196-265 Reactive antioxidants for polymers....Pages 266-302 Synthesis of polyolefin graft and block copolymers by reactive borane reagents and applications in polyolefin blends and composites....Pages 303-330 Electron beam radiation graft modification of preformed polymer architecture....Pages 331-348 Thermoplastic elastomers based on elastomer/thermoplastic blends dynamically vulcanized....Pages 349-394 Back Matter....Pages 395-400