BARRIER PROPERTIES OF POLYPROPYLENE/POLY(M-XYLENE ADIPAMIDE) AND POLYPROPYLENE/POLY(ETHYLENE-CO-VINYL ALCOHOL) BLEND FILMS

The purpose of this study is to generate polypropylene (PP) blend films with improved oxygen gas and water vapor barrier properties, which are intended to be used in packaging applications. PP blend films containing 5 wt% ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or poly(m-xylene adipamide) (N-MXD6) were prepared, biaxially stretched, and characterized by employing differential scanning calorimeter, scanning electron microscope, oxygen gas and water vapor permeability analyzers. No barrier property improvement was observed, which is caused by the low amount of the dispersed phase used.