Abstract
Polyethylene-polypropylene blends were produced by gelation/crystallization from semidilute solutions by using ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) (3×106) and low molecular weight polypropylene (LMWPP) (2.2×105). The polyethylene/polypropylene (PE/PP) compositions were 80/20, 60/40, 40/60, 25/75, and 20/80. The blend gels except the 20/80 composition formed films. The maximum drawability was affected by composition. This phenomenon is discussed in terms of the morphology of blend films as studied by wide-angle X-ray diffraction, small-angle X-ray scattering, small-angle light scattering, optical microscopy, and birefringence. It turned out that the facile drawability of the blend films with draw ratio of 230 is due to the existence of a suitable level of entanglement meshes between UHMWPE and LMWPP chains in spite of their incompatibility in solution.
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Ogita, T., Kawahara, Y., Sawatari, C. et al. Morphological Properties of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Low Molecular Weight Polypropylene Blend Gel Films. Polym J 23, 871–884 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.23.871
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.23.871