Polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride to improve wettability of liquid on polyethylene films

✍ Scribed by S. Sánchez-Valdes; C. J. Picazo-Rada; M. L. Lopez-Quintanilla

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 248 KB
• Volume: 79
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-4628(20010307)79:10<1802::aid-app80>3.0.co;2-t

✦ Synopsis

Blends of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and LLDPE grafted maleic anhydride (LLDPE-g-MA) were prepared by melt mixing. The surface of cast films with different contents and types of maleated PE were characterized through contact angle and wetting tension measurements, as well as attenuated total reflection IR spectroscopy. The tensile properties and light transmission of extruded films, as well as the performance of these films compared with commercial "antifog" films, for greenhouses were determined. The carbonyl polar groups on the surface of LLDPE/LLDPEg-MA blends increased, and the equilibrium contact angles of water and dimethylformamide decreased when the content of maleated PE increased. Films made with these blends showed a noticeable reduction in water drop formation as the MA content was increased and when using LLDPE-g-MA of lower molecular weight. The light transmission through these films under condensation was improved when using increased contents of MA, which promotes better wetting of the water on the surface.