화학공학소재연구정보센터
Macromolecules, Vol.39, No.9, 3441-3449, 2006
Thermoreversible cross-linking of maleated ethylene/propylene copolymers using hydrogen-bonding and ionic interactions
Maleated ethylene/propylene copolymers (MAn-g-EPM) were thermoreversibly cross-linked via a reaction with primary alkylamines of different length, either with an equimolar amount to obtain the amide-acid or with an excess to obtain the amide-salt, which was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments showed the presence of microphase-separated aggregates for both the starting MAn-g-EPM and all alkylamide-acids and -salts, which act as physical cross-links. The materials could easily be remolded at 80 degrees C into homogeneous films for several times without changes in the FTIR spectra, indicating that the (physical) cross-links are truly reversible. The tensile properties and elasticity were improved by converting MAn-g-EPM to the amide-acids due to hydrogen bonding and even further by converting the amide-acids to the amide-salts due to additional ionic interactions besides hydrogen bonding. Better tensile properties and elasticity were observed for the octadecylamine, which was explained by packing of the long alkyl tails in a crystalline-like order. Apparently, this packing is rather ill-defined, since a scattering peak could only be observed in the SAXS patterns of material modified with a large excess of octadecylamine after processing above 140 degrees C. Irreversible imide formation occurred for all amide-acids and amide-salts at high temperatures, resulting in disappearance of the aggregates and, hence, a dramatic decrease in mechanical properties. Therefore, these temperatures should be avoided during the (re)processing. Replacement of the excess of alkylamine with a different base, viz. potassium hydroxide, resulted in prevention of imide formation at high temperatures and a further improvement in mechanical properties.