Summary: Propylene was copolymerized with 10‐undecen‐1‐ol using dimethylsilanylbis(2‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1‐indenyl)zirconium dichloride as catalyst and MAO and TIBA as cocatalysts. Comonomer incorporations from 0.1 to 0.9 mol‐% (0.5 to 3.6 wt.‐%) were obtained. These hydroxyl functionalized copolymers were applied as compatibilizers to PP/PA6 blend with a composition of 70/30. For comparison, hydroxyl functionalized polyethylene prepared with metallocene catalyst and commercial MAH grafted ethylene butyl acrylate (E/BA/MAH) and poly(propylene) (PP‐g‐MAH) were also used as compatibilizers. Effects of the compatibilizers on morphology and mechanical and thermal properties of the blends were studied. Enhanced adhesion between the blend components was observed in morphology and dynamic mechanical studies. Although improvement in toughness was not as pronounced as expected, there were indications that the hydroxyl functionalized propylene copolymers prepared with metallocene catalysts could serve as a new type of compatibilizer in polymer blends.
SEM micrograph (5 000×) of an PP/PA6/PP‐co‐OH4 blend.
