MORPHOLOGY AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF ULTRA-HIGH-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE-POLY(TETRAFLUOROETHYLENE) BLEND FILMS

This paper deals with the morphology and mechanical properties of blend films for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) prepared by kneading techniques. This experiment was carried out for blend films, prepared with different compositions of PTFE and UHMWPE to improve thermal properties of PE. In spite of the incompatibility of the two polymers, the blend film with the PTFE/UHMWPE composition = 75/25 was maintained under the measurement of complex modulus at temperature higher than 300 degrees C. This indicates that the UHMWPE chains dispersed in PTFE fibrous texture were not separated by the melting flow of UHMWPE at 300 degrees C. To check the origin of this interesting phenomenon, the morphology of the blend films was investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance.