Melt grafting of itaconic acid and its derivatives onto an ethylene-propylene copolymer

The percentage of grafting attained was also followed by FTIR analysis, where the amount of monomer incorporated in EPR was estimated from a calibration curve established for the monomers used in this work. The degree of grafting obtained was 1.1% by weight of EPR for itaconic acid, 1.2% for monomethyl itaconate and 2.5% for dimethyl itaconate. Rheological and contact angle measurements indicate that the polarity of EPR is increased by grafting reaction.