Investigating the Degradation Behavior of LDPE-grafted Maleic Anhydride for Use as Compatibilizer in Environmentally Degradable Compositions

In this paper, we report the degradation behavior of a LDPE-grafted Maleic anhydride polymer prepared using a reactive extrusion technique. 70 ± 5 µm blown films were exposed to oxidative environments, and the degradation was followed by monitoring physico-chemical and morphological changes. The studies indicated that grafting with Maleic anhydride does not affect the degradation characteristics of the base polymer. Kinetic parameters of degradation, as estimated using non-isothermal TGA, were used to estimate the theoretical lifetime of the polymers, which remained unaltered due to grafting. The results, however, indicated that cobalt stearate, a typical pro-oxidant, led to massive degradation during thermal processing.