Polypropylene surface modification by entrapment of polypropylene-graft-poly(butyl methacrylate)

Surface modification of polypropylene was carried out by entraping a copolymer of polypropylene grafted poly(butyl methacrylate) into polypropylene. The effects of structure of copolymers, contact die and content of modifiers on their surface enrichment were studied by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), contact angle measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that PPw-g-PBMA could diffuse preferably onto the surface and effectively increase the hydrophilicity of PP. Lower content and higher surface energy die were in favor of the copolymer to enrich on the PP surface. PPw-g-PBMA with low PBMA contents, short length of PBMA distributed in PP with smaller phase domains and favored its selective enrichment on the surface of PP, especially at lower loadings in blends. The modified material exhibited excellent solvent-resistance.