Thermooxidation of polypropylene wax was investigated in the molten state under an air-flowing atmosphere. Calorimetric measurements were performed to investigate the effect of the inclusion of 1-dodecanol as an efficient primary alcohol and to reveal the typical outlines of thermooxidation, that is, the induction time and oxidation rate. The same parameters were obtained and compared on the basis of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) peaks of major oxidation products, such as ketones and hydroxyl groups. The results showed that 1-dodecanol caused a change in the shape of the calorimetric thermo-gram and also yielded oxidized products With more clarity in color. With the Arrhenius equation, the apparent activation energy was calculated on the basis of the induction time and oxidation rate for carbonyl and hydroxyl groups individually. The obtained apparent activation energy was in agreement with the proposed mechanism based on bimolecular hydroperoxide decomposition involving dodecanol. With FTIR spectroscopy, no changes in the chain helical conformation or double-bond concentration were observed during oxidation up to 500 min. An acid value of up to 6 mg of KOH per gram was obtained at this time. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 111: 2703-2710, 2009