Mechanical and Heat Shrinkable Properties of Electron Beam Irradiated Polypropylene With Bisphenol A Dimethacrylate Crosslinker

Abstract Radiation crosslinking of polyolefins has gained interest for the development of advanced heat-shrinkable materials. Propylene homopolymer (PP1), polypropylene-polyethylene block copolymers (PP2, PP3) and their mixtures with 3 wt.% of bisphenol A dimethacrylate (BPDMA) crosslinking agent were irradiated with 25–150 kGy of accelerated electrons and were compared for aforementioned purpose. The studied mechanical properties indicated increased elongation in the presence of BPDMA that was contributed to the crosslinked moieties of PP and the crosslinking agent. The shrinkage stresses were comparable to that of polyethylene based heat-shrinkable material.