Rheological, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polypropylene/Low Molecular Weight Polypropylene Blends

Abstract

Ultra-high molecular weight polypropylene (UHMWPP), with a molecular weight of more than 10⁶ g/mol, is expected to have superior properties, such as high mechanical strength, high thermal properties, high chemical resistance and outstanding tribological properties. However, UHMWPP has a very poor processability due to its high melt viscosity. Therefore, we aimed to improve processability of UHMWPP by blending it with a low molecular weight polypropylene (LMWPP). We attempted to improve the interfacial miscibility and intermolecular entanglement of the UHMWPP/LMWPP system by using a kneader machine. The addition of LMWPP tended to change the mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of the blend system.

Keywords:

• blend compatibility
• low molecular weight polypropylene
• mechanical properties
• melt flow index
• ultrahigh molecular weight polypropylene

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Funds of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (20010519) and the BB 21plus funded by Busan Metropolitan City and BIT.