Mechanical, Thermal, Morphological and Rheological Properties of Polypropylene/Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene Blends
Mechanical, Thermal, Morphological and RheologicalProperties of Polypropylene/Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene Blends

In this study, the blends of polypropylene (PP) and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were prepared by the four-and twin-screw extruders, and ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM), as the third component, was added to the binary blends. The mechanical.thermal, morphological and rheological properties of these two blends have been investigated.For the materials blended by the four-screw extruder, a 15 wt-% content of UHMWPE corresponds to a maximum lzod impact strength, and the miscibility enhancement effect of EPDM on PP/UHMWPE blends is very remarkable. Mechanical and thermal properties demonstrate that melt blending by the four-screw extruder is a better prcessing method for PP/UHMWPF blends than that by the twin-screw extruder. A co-continuous structure was observed in blends through TEM, and a novel "linear interpenetrating" toughening mechanism is proposed on the basis of this research work