Investigation of Styrene-Assisted Free-Radical Grafting of Glycidyl Methacrylate onto High-Density Polyethylene Using Response Surface Method

In this study, the free-radical grafting of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in the presence of styrene, as a comonomer, is investigated using a Brabender internal mixer. To optimize grafting level of GMA onto HDPE, response surface method (RSM) was exploited. Using RSM method of experimental design, it was possible to investigate the individual effects of various variables including dicumyl peroxide (DCP) concentration, GMA content, as well as reaction time, and their interactions on grafting efficiency. The fitted quadratic model obtained from statistical analysis is expressed by an approximating function to investigate the final torque as a responding variable over the experimental range of the independent variables. The grafting yield of GMA onto HDPE for the prepared samples was determined using titration/back-titration technique and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). According to the torque-time diagrams, increasing the DCP content led to an increase in GMA grafting yield. Also, it was found that the reaction time imparts minor effect on the final processing torque, and there exists an interaction between DCP and GMA content. The results of melt flow index (MFI) test showed that increasing the reaction time at constant DCP and GMA content enhances the MFI values of the samples, due to the more probability of chain scission phenomenon. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 111: 1600-1605, 2009