Sulfonyl azides—an alternative route to polyolefin modification

Abstract Low‐density polyethylene was modified to incorporate aniline moieties by reactive processing with 4‐aminobenzenesulfonyl azide. Under melt‐processing conditions, the loss of nitrogen produces a sulfonyl nitrene which, in the singlet state, interacts with the substrate primarily by C–H insertion. Polymeric blends prepared from aniline‐grafted polyethylene and nylon‐66 showed improved tensile and impact properties over and above nylon blended with virgin polyethylene. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 1395–1402, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10302