Abstract
In order to investigate the structure and morphology of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) gel in organic solvents, measurements of gel-melting temperature, melting temperature of crystallites formed in the gel, differential scanning calorimetry, electron microscopy, and shear modulus of the gel have been carried out in a range of concentration from 1 to 20 g/100 cm3. As a result, two kinds of network structures are found to be constructed with increasing concentration of polymer in the gel. That is, one is the network constructed mainly by microcrystallites formed from low molecular weight species with a lot of short chain branches (SCB), whose structure appears in a lower concentration region than ca. 4 g/100 cm3; the other is that constructed by crystalline linkages of large crystallites (dendrites) formed from high molecular weight species with a little SCB, which appears in a higher concentration region than 4 g/100 cm3. According to Takahashi’s theory derived for gel-melting temperature of crystalline copolymer gel, at least ca. 19 ethylene-units participate in the microcrystallite to form a junction point of the network at an early stage of gelation from a solution.
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Okabe, M., Mitsui, K., Sasai, F. et al. Study of Polyolefin Gel in Organic Solvents III. Structure and Morphology of Linear Low Density Polyethylene Gel in Organic Solvents. Polym J 21, 313–328 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.21.313
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.21.313
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