Ultra-drawing of gel films of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene/low molecular weight polymer blends containing BaTiO3 nanoparticles

Abstract

The ultra-drawing process of an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) gel film was examined by incorporating linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and BaTiO 3 nanoparticles. The effects of LLDPE and the draw ratios on the morphological development and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite membrane systems were investigated. By incorporating BaTiO 3 nanoparticles in the UHMWPE/LLDPE blend systems, the ultra-drawing process provided a highly extended, fibril structure of UHMWPE chains to form highly porous, composite membranes with well-dispersed nanoparticles. The ultra-drawing process of UHMWPE/LLDPE dry-gel films desirably dispersed the highly loaded BaTiO 3 nanoparticles in the porous membrane, which could be used to form multi-layered structures for electronic applications in various embedded, printed circuit board (PCB) systems.

Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Organo-Clay Based UHMWPE Nanocomposite Films

“…The development of anisotropy is very apparent in the images. Un-drawn samples showed in Figure 2a show the lamellar structures [12]. The lamellar structure is transformed into oriented fibrous structure as is evident from the drawn samples 2b and 2c.…”

“…Although UHMWPE possesses many excellent properties but its poor adhesion to fillers, lower thermal stability, high melt viscosity and creep are the main hurdles for its vast spread engineering applications. Many researchers have shown that nanofillers can be incorporated into UHMWPE matrix via in-situ polymerization [9,10], solution casting [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and melt mixing [18][19][20] to improve thermal, mechanical, electrical, UHMWPE-filler adhesion, fluidity and reduce flammability of the pristine UHMWPE.…”