Blending polypropylene with glycidyl methacrylate‐containing polymer to improve adhesion to elastomers

BACKGROUND: Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most widely used polyolefins but gets restricted in surface applications due to its non‐polar nature. Surface properties of films made of PP were modified to improve their adhesion to elastomeric polymers such as thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), especially to Pebax^® poly(ether‐block‐amide)]. RESULTS: Surface modification of PP was brought about by blending it with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA)‐containing polymer to increase its surface energy. Films of modified PP were analyzed to determine the blending efficiency and characterized using contact angle measurements, differential scanning calorimetry, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Molecular dynamics simulations were done to determine surface and bulk properties of PP blended with GMA. The computational results correlated very well with the experimental data and revealed that the changes in the surface energy can be linked to the position of the functional group within the sample. T‐Peel tests indicated a 2.4 times increase in adhesion to Pebax^® and only 1.7 times increase in adhesion to TPU compared to unmodified PP. CONCLUSION: The surface energy and enhanced adhesion proved that PP was successfully modified and its surface made more polar. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry