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Improving Visible‐Light Transparency of Drawn Melt‐Crystallized Linear Polyethylenes: Influence of Molecular Weight Distribution
Author(s) -
Shen Lihua,
Severn John,
Bastiaansen Cees W. M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201700003
Subject(s) - materials science , differential scanning calorimetry , light scattering , scattering , transparency (behavior) , small angle x ray scattering , visible spectrum , optics , optoelectronics , thermodynamics , physics , political science , law
A series of drawn melt‐crystallized linear polyethylenes (LPEs) with different molecular weight distributions (MWD = M w / M n ) ranging from 2 to 25 are investigated with respect to the visible‐light transparency. The results indicate that the MWD of the LPEs significantly influences the visible‐light transparency of drawn melt‐crystallized LPEs. At a high MWD, drawn melt‐crystallized LPEs films are transparent and glass‐like, this in contrast to the LPEs with a low MWD. A mechanism behind the observed results is proposed based on differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, small‐angle X‐ray scattering, wide‐angle X‐ray scattering, and small‐angle light scattering experiments. A correlation between the molecular characteristics, especially the MWD, and the visible‐light transparency of the drawn melt‐crystallized LPEs is proposed.