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Studies on the properties and structure of electron‐beam crosslinked low‐density polyethylene/poly[ethylene‐ co ‐(vinyl acetate)] blends
Author(s) -
Dadbin Susan,
Frounchi Masoud,
Sabet Maziar
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.1750
Subject(s) - low density polyethylene , crystallinity , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , amorphous solid , polyethylene , vinyl acetate , ethylene vinyl acetate , polymer , irradiation , composite material , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , copolymer , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , nuclear physics , engineering
Blends of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) and poly[ethylene‐ co ‐(vinyl acetate)] (PEVA), crosslinked by electron‐beam (EB) radiation, formed separate crystalline lattices with a homogeneous amorphous phase. The crystallinity of the EB‐exposed samples slightly decreased, as verified by a slight reduction in the densities and melting heats and temperatures of the samples. The results obtained from both gel content and hot set tests showed that the degree of crosslinking in the amorphous regions was dependent on the dose and blend composition. The molecular weights between the crosslinks, measured from creep data, showed that an increasing PEVA content resulted in tighter network structures, thus supporting the idea that the crosslinking density at a given irradiation dose depends on the amorphous portions of the polymers. Addition of trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate as a radiation sensitizer enhanced the gel content of the neat polyethylene significantly, while the addition of an antioxidant showed the reverse effect. A significant improvement in the tensile strength of the neat PEVA samples was obtained upon EB radiation up to 210 kGy. The irradiated LDPE/PEVA blends showed improved tensile strength and elongation at break when compared to LDPE. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry