Preparation of the Modified Polyethylenes Using Reactive Extrusion for Using in Packaging Industries and Investigation of their Physical and Mechanical Properties

Polyolefins, especially polyethylene, have many applications in various industries, but due to the non-polar nature are limited in the some of their applications. Therefore, modification of these polymers with polar groups using different methods can develop range of their application. In this work, the first, polyethylene is functionalized in the presence of maleic anhydride and 1-octone monomers using reactive extrusion method. Then the effect of this modification on the structure and physical and mechanical properties of polyethylenes was studied using various tests. The obtained results from rheological analysis indicated the relaxation time was increased as side branches were enhanced, as a result of increase in elastic memory. Also, using DMF as a chain transfer agent, improved grafting performance. In addition, the results of atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis indicated that by increasing branching of the modified polethylenes, the surface roughness of the prepared films by using film blowing method enhanced significantly.