MODIFIED POLYOLEFINS

• Main Authors: SMITS VALERIE, DE BUYL FRANCOIS, BACKER MICHAEL, DEHEUNYNCK DAMIEN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Korean
• Published: 21.04.2011
• Subjects: ADHESIVE PROCESSES NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; ADHESIVES; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; DYES; MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVINGCARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS; METALLURGY; MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS; MISCELLANEOUS COMPOSITIONS; NATURAL RESINS; NON-MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF ADHESIVE PROCESSES IN GENERAL; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; PAINTS; POLISHES; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; USE OF MATERIALS AS ADHESIVES

The invention relates to a process for grafting hydrolysable silane groups to a polyolefin in which ethylene units, if present, form less than 50% by weight of the total polyolefin. The polyolefin is reacted with an unsaturated silane, having at least one hydrolysable group bonded to Si, or a hydrolysate thereof, in the presence of means capable of generating free radical sites in the polyolefin. The unsaturated silane has the formula R''-CH=CH-Z (I) or R''-C=C-Z (II) in which Z represents an electron-withdrawing moiety substituted by a -SiRaR'(3-a) group wherein R represents a hydrolysable group; R' represents a hydrocarbyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms; a has a value in the range 1 to 3 inclusive; and R'' represents hydrogen or a group having an electron withdrawing or any other activation effect with respect to the -CH=CH- or -C=C- bond. The use of an unsaturated silane of the formula R''-CH=CH-Z (I) or R''-C=C-Z (II) in carrying out the grafting reaction on the polyolefin may give enhanced grafting yield compared to grafting with an olefinically unsaturated silane such as vinyltrimethoxysilane not containing an electron withdrawing moiety Z. The invention permits to provide a silane-modified polyolefin having a high grafting efficiency while limiting/preventing polymer degradation by chain scission. The silane-modified polyolefin can be further reacted with a polar surface, a filler or a polar polymer or reacted on itself to crosslink the polyolefin and obtain enhanced physical properties of the composites made thereof.