Compatibilization of iPP/HDPE Blends with PE-g-iPP Graft Copolymers

Kristine Klimovica; Sanshui Pan; Ting Wei Lin; Xiayu Peng; Christopher J. Ellison; Anne M. Lapointe; Frank S. Bates; Geoffrey W. Coates

doi:10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00339

Compatibilization of iPP/HDPE Blends with PE-g-iPP Graft Copolymers

Kristine Klimovica, Sanshui Pan, Ting Wei Lin, Xiayu Peng, Christopher J. Ellison, Anne M. Lapointe, Frank S. Bates, Geoffrey W. Coates

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

46 Scopus citations

Abstract

The compatibilization of polyethylene (PE) and isotactic polypropylene (iPP) blends is of particular interest due to the challenges associated with recycling these plastics from mixed waste streams. Polyethylene-graft-iPP copolymers (PE-g-iPP) were prepared using a grafting-through strategy by copolymerization of ethylene with allyl-terminated iPP macromonomers in the presence of a hafnium pyridylamido catalyst. Graft copolymers with a variety of graft lengths (Mn = 6-28 kg/mol), graft numbers, and graft spacings were prepared. These graft copolymers were melt-blended with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and iPP (iPP/HDPE = 30/70 w/w), and the blend properties were evaluated by tensile testing. The blends showed enhanced tensile strength at 5 and 1 wt % loading, with higher tensile strength observed for larger block numbers and graft lengths. These results indicate that graft copolymers are efficient compatibilizers for blends of HDPE and iPP.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1161-1166
Number of pages	6
Journal	ACS Macro Letters
Volume	9
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00339
State	Published - Aug 18 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers (CHE-1901635). This work made use of the NMR Facility at Cornell University and is supported, in part, by the NSF under Award CHE-1531632. Some of the experiments were conducted in the Characterization Facility, University of Minnesota, which receives partial support from NSF through the MRSEC program.

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© 2020 American Chemical Society.

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title = "Compatibilization of iPP/HDPE Blends with PE-g-iPP Graft Copolymers",

abstract = "The compatibilization of polyethylene (PE) and isotactic polypropylene (iPP) blends is of particular interest due to the challenges associated with recycling these plastics from mixed waste streams. Polyethylene-graft-iPP copolymers (PE-g-iPP) were prepared using a grafting-through strategy by copolymerization of ethylene with allyl-terminated iPP macromonomers in the presence of a hafnium pyridylamido catalyst. Graft copolymers with a variety of graft lengths (Mn = 6-28 kg/mol), graft numbers, and graft spacings were prepared. These graft copolymers were melt-blended with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and iPP (iPP/HDPE = 30/70 w/w), and the blend properties were evaluated by tensile testing. The blends showed enhanced tensile strength at 5 and 1 wt % loading, with higher tensile strength observed for larger block numbers and graft lengths. These results indicate that graft copolymers are efficient compatibilizers for blends of HDPE and iPP. ",

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AU - Ellison, Christopher J.

AU - Lapointe, Anne M.

AU - Bates, Frank S.

AU - Coates, Geoffrey W.

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PY - 2020/8/18

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N2 - The compatibilization of polyethylene (PE) and isotactic polypropylene (iPP) blends is of particular interest due to the challenges associated with recycling these plastics from mixed waste streams. Polyethylene-graft-iPP copolymers (PE-g-iPP) were prepared using a grafting-through strategy by copolymerization of ethylene with allyl-terminated iPP macromonomers in the presence of a hafnium pyridylamido catalyst. Graft copolymers with a variety of graft lengths (Mn = 6-28 kg/mol), graft numbers, and graft spacings were prepared. These graft copolymers were melt-blended with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and iPP (iPP/HDPE = 30/70 w/w), and the blend properties were evaluated by tensile testing. The blends showed enhanced tensile strength at 5 and 1 wt % loading, with higher tensile strength observed for larger block numbers and graft lengths. These results indicate that graft copolymers are efficient compatibilizers for blends of HDPE and iPP.

AB - The compatibilization of polyethylene (PE) and isotactic polypropylene (iPP) blends is of particular interest due to the challenges associated with recycling these plastics from mixed waste streams. Polyethylene-graft-iPP copolymers (PE-g-iPP) were prepared using a grafting-through strategy by copolymerization of ethylene with allyl-terminated iPP macromonomers in the presence of a hafnium pyridylamido catalyst. Graft copolymers with a variety of graft lengths (Mn = 6-28 kg/mol), graft numbers, and graft spacings were prepared. These graft copolymers were melt-blended with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and iPP (iPP/HDPE = 30/70 w/w), and the blend properties were evaluated by tensile testing. The blends showed enhanced tensile strength at 5 and 1 wt % loading, with higher tensile strength observed for larger block numbers and graft lengths. These results indicate that graft copolymers are efficient compatibilizers for blends of HDPE and iPP.

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Compatibilization of iPP/HDPE Blends with PE-g-iPP Graft Copolymers

Abstract

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Compatibilization of iPP/HDPE Blends with PE-g-iPP Graft Copolymers

Abstract

Bibliographical note

How much support was provided by MRSEC?

Reporting period for MRSEC

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MRSEC IRG-3: Hierarchical Multifunctional Macromolecular Materials

MRSEC Program

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