Summary
The grafting of HDPE and LLDPE with itaconic acid (AIt) was made by reactive extrusion using the peroxide 2,5‐dimethyl‐2,5‐di(tert‐butyli) peroxy hexane (trigonox 101) as initiator. The graft efficiency was evaluated using FTIR to identify bands of carbonyl groups in the polymer. It is influence on the addition of itaconic acid in the structure of the polymer chain was evaluated using CRYSTAF and microcalorimetry, where it was show that the incorporated acid causes a narrow crystallization profile and the decrease of the percentage of the soluble fraction at 30 °C. The polymers were fractionated by molecular weight and chemical composition to check the distribution of the AIt incorporation, the percentage of AIt was quantified in each fraction by FTIR, and it was show that the incorporation of AIt occurred homogeneously in all the chains.