Kinetics of the free radical grafting of diethyl maleate onto linear polyethylene

A study of the kinetics of diethyl maleate (DEM) grafting onto linear polye thylene (HDPE) initiated by dicumyl peroxide (DCP), was performed by differ ential scanning calorimetry (DSC) which allows the determination of kinetic parameters such as the activation energy E-a and the order of the reaction n. The calculated kinetic parameters depend on the conditions and vary wit h the feed composition: in particular the values of E-a and n increase with increasing of DCP/DEM ratio because of secondary reactions such as chain e xtension and degradation. A mathematical model based on the kinetic equatio ns is proposed; it can be used to select feed composition and process param eters to obtain the desired products. (C) 2000 Society of Chemical Industry .