Ultra‐drawing of High Molecular Weight Polyethylene

The effective drawability of solution‐cast or ‐spun high molecular weight polyethylene is enhanced significantly in comparison with an identical polymer sample that is crystallised from the melt. The maximum attainable draw ratio, which primarily determines the final mechanical properties, increases continuously with decreasing initial polymer concentration in solution. A tensile strength of 3.2 GPa and an axial Young's modulus of 120 GPa could be obtained by drawing high molecular weight polyethylene cast from a 1% polymer solution. This phenomenon of increased drawability is discussed in terms of a reduced number of entanglements per macromolecule in solution‐cast polyethylene.