Synthesis of polyolefin-based copolymers with controlled chemical composition and chain microstructure provides great opportunities for their use in compatibilizing polyolefin blends, particularly for improving the recycling and waste management of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). In this study, polyolefin graft copolymers comprising semicrystalline PE side chain and amorphous polyethylethylene (PEE) backbone were synthesized by grafting amine-terminated 1,4-polybutadiene (PB) onto carboxyl-grafted 1,2-PB, followed by hydrogenation. A suite of characterization techniques was employed to assess the degree of functionalization, polymer microstructure, and molecular weight of these graft copolymers with different side chain lengths and graft densities. Moreover, since most commodity polyolefins are semicrystalline, understanding the crystallization behavior of these polyolefin copolymers is important. The non-isothermal crystallization behavior of these graft copolymers was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the Jeziorny-modified Avrami model, revealing the impact of graft architecture on their crystallization behavior and kinetics.
