Polyolefins molecular weight range

The vinyl acetate content and the molecular weight range influence the hot melt rheology and particularly the adhesive properties. The higher the ethylene content, the better the specific adhesion to non-polar substrates, such as polyolefins, copolymers with a higher vinyl acetate content show an improved adhesion to polar substrates, such as paper. Comparatively low molecular weight polymers yield low-melt viscosity solid inks that are easier to process and apply. 

Other than fuel, the largest volume appHcation for hexane is in extraction of oil from seeds, eg, soybeans, cottonseed, safflower seed, peanuts, rapeseed, etc. Hexane has been found ideal for these appHcations because of its high solvency for oil, low boiling point, and low cost. Its narrow boiling range minimises losses, and its low benzene content minimises toxicity. These same properties also make hexane a desirable solvent and reaction medium in the manufacture of polyolefins, synthetic mbbers, and some pharmaceuticals. The solvent serves as catalyst carrier and, in some systems, assists in molecular weight regulation by precipitation of the polymer as it reaches a certain molecular size. However, most solution polymerization processes are fairly old it is likely that those processes will be replaced by more efficient nonsolvent processes in time. 

Among the different pressure sensitive adhesives, acrylates are unique because they are one of the few materials that can be synthesized to be inherently tacky. Indeed, polyvinylethers, some amorphous polyolefins, and some ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers are the only other polymers that share this unique property. Because of the access to a wide range of commercial monomers, their relatively low cost, and their ease of polymerization, acrylates have become the dominant single component pressure sensitive adhesive materials used in the industry. Other PSAs, such as those based on natural rubber or synthetic block copolymers with rubbery midblock require compounding of the elastomer with low molecular weight additives such as tackifiers, oils, and/or plasticizers. The absence of these low molecular weight additives can have some desirable advantages, such as ... 

P.O.34 is rarely used in polyolefins. In such media, it only withstands exposure to 200°C, and its opaque colorations show insufficient lightfastness. P.O.34 tends to bloom, especially in extrusion products made of low molecular weight LDPE types. The pigment is, however, recommended for a variety of other media. These range from aromatic polyurethane foams to cast resins of unsaturated polyester, in which the pigment slightly delays the hardening process. 

A comparison of predicted and measured values of diffusion coefficients for solutes with a large range of molecular weights in polyolefins is shown in Chapter 15 and allows an empirical selection of the a-value. 

Plasma vs. Corona Treatment of Polypropylene (PP1. Corona treatments of polyolefins to modify their surfaces are very common in the polymer industry. The chemistry at such surfaces has been widely studied by XPS (4). It is generally assumed that corona treatments create abundant amounts of radicals which react with oxygen to form a hydroperoxide. This reacts further to eventually form crosslinks, oxidized products (ranging from hydroxyls to esters) with and without chain scission. The latter process is believed to lead to low-molecular weight material. There is some controversy over this material. Its role in determining the surface properties of the modified polymer is not completely understood. Its formation cannot be demonstrated directly by XPS, but only by comparing spectra before and after washing. 

Polyolefins, mainly PE and PP, the main commodity plastics, decompose into a range of paraffins and olefins, according to route 2. The molecular weight distribution and the paraffin-to-olefin ratio decrease with rising reaction temperature and time. 

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