Process for preparing foamed articles made from ethylene/α-olefin interpolymers

A process for preparing a foamed article comprising an adhesive layer bonded to at least one foam layer, said process comprising the steps of:

• a) preparing the foam layer;
• b) applying a primer to the foam layer;
• c) irradiating the foam layer with an ultraviolet energy of greater than 0.7 J/cm2;
• and
• d) applying the adhesive layer to the foam layer,
• wherein the foam layer comprises greater than 50 weight percent of an ethylene/α-olefin interpolymer, and
• wherein the primer comprises:
• A) one or more monomers and/or oligomers selected from the group consisting of
• wherein each R is independently selected from the group consisting of the following:
• substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbylenes, and substituted or unsubstituted hetero-hydrocarbylenes, each of the hydrocarbylenes and hetero-hydrocarbylenes having between 4 and 40 carbon atoms and x is any integer equal to or greater than 1;
• B) at least one chlorinated olefin-based polymer and/or at least one functionalized chlorinated olefin-based polymer;
• C) at least one styrene-based block copolymer or derivative thereof;
• and
• D) at least one photoinitiator, and
• wherein the ethylene/α-olefin interpolymer is an olefin block copolymer.