UHMWPE/HDPE in-reactor blends, prepared by in situ polymerization: Synthetic aspects and characterization
A. E. Ferreira, M. L. Cerrada, E. Perez, V. Lorenzo, E. Valles, J. Ressia, H. Cramail, J. P. Lourenco, M. R. Ribeiro
Vol. 11., No.5., Pages 344-361, 2017
DOI: 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2017.34
DOI: 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2017.34
Corresponding author: M. R. Ribeiro 
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
This work covers the synthesis and characterization of in-reactor Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene/High Density Polyethylene, UHMWPE/HDPE, blends by in situ polymerization in a single reactor, through dual catalyst immobilization. These blends are synthesized combining two different catalysts (one for each targeted molar mass) co-immobilized in mesoporous Santa Barbara Amorphous, SBA-15, particles. First, the ethylene polymerization behavior is investigated, under different polymerization conditions. Then, studies on the thermal, mechanical and rheological characteristics of the produced in-reactor blends are presented and their performance is compared and discussed in a comprehensive way. Moreover, the effect of different filler contents on the properties exhibited by the resulting materials is investigated. Results have shown that these in-reactor UHMWPE/HDPE blends exhibit a complex thermal, mechanical and rheological behavior, which depends mainly on the proportion between the two polymer components and on the amount of SBA-15.
