Exploring Functionalities For The Development Of High Thermal Stability Polypropylene-Based Dielectrics

The motivation of this study was to explore the viability of a new strategy, aimed at substantially improving both thermal and dielectric performance of polypropylene (PP), especially under oxidative conditions, by preparing in a single step a self-cross-linkable functionalized PP. For that purpose, an alpha-olefin bearing the N-alkylpyrrole moiety was copolymerized with propylene, by using metallocene catalysis, and the obtained materials thoroughly characterized. Thermal treatment at processing temperatures of the obtained copolymers proved that radical chemistry associated with this function provides, per se, efficient PP cross-linking. The copolymers show high dielectric reliability and retain a flexible behavior, thus breaking new ground in the single-step preparation of high thermal stability PP-based dielectrics.