A new approach for silane curing metallocene-based polyethylene-octene copolymers by Monosil and Sioplas processes

The silane grafted compound need to be storage under approprate conditions in order to be avioded from any premature crosslinking reactions, which is a necessary requirement for re-extruding the silane grafted compounds and producing the final-shaped articles. Therefore, with the aim of selecting an approprate silane grafting process, Monosil or Sioplas, the effect of dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL) as catalyst on the melt flow index (MFI) of the silane grafted compounds was invesigated. The results showed an MFI of 6.4±0.1 g/10 min for the silane grafted compound obtained from the Sioplas process, but, the MFI of 1.9 g/10 min which was obtained due to the presence of the catalyst in the Monosil process indicated that this method is not a promising process for silane grafting.