Properties of metallocene-catalysed polyethylenes

Metallocene-catalysed polyethylenes exhibit the general characteristics of polyethylene as noted in the introductory paragraph of Section 10.5. Furthermore 

It is generally claimed that metallocene polyethylenes (often abbreviated to m-PE) exhibit superior mechanical and optical properties as well as better organoleptic properties (resulting from the lower residue levels). As an example m-LLDPE is particularly favoured as a stretch film for wrapping because of the good prestretchability, high puncture resistance and tear strength, all of which are claimed to be better than with conventional LLDPE. 

Metallocene-catalysed very low density polyethylene (m-VLDPE) has become available with densities of as low as 0.903. This is of use for sealing layers of multi-layer films since sealing can commence at lower temperatures than with conventional materials such as LLDPE and EVA (see Section 11.6) with the polymer seal exhibiting both cold strength and hot tack strength. 

Although polyethylene can be, and indeed often is, used without additives a number may be blended into the polymer for various reasons. These additives can be classified as follows  

Polyethylene bums readily and a number of materials have been used as flame retarders. These include antimony trioxide and a number of halogenated materials. 

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Since the last edition several new materials have been aimounced. Many of these are based on metallocene catalyst technology. Besides the more obvious materials such as metallocene-catalysed polyethylene and polypropylene these also include syndiotactic polystyrenes, ethylene-styrene copolymers and cycloolefin polymers. Developments also continue with condensation polymers with several new polyester-type materials of interest for bottle-blowing and/or degradable plastics. New phenolic-type resins have also been announced. As with previous editions I have tried to explain the properties of these new materials in terms of their structure and morphology involving the principles laid down in the earlier chapters. 

Kontou and Spathis [44] carried out an investigation into the relationship between long-term viscoelasticity and viscoplastic responses of two types of ethylene-vinyl acetate metallocene-catalysed linear low-density polyethylene using DSC, DMTA and tensile testing. A relaxation modulus function with respect to time was obtained from values of relaxation spectra and treated as a material property. This relaxation modulus function was used to describe the corresponding tensile data and a constitutive analysis, which accounts for the viscoelastic path at small strains and the viscoplastic path at high strains, was employed to predict the tensile behaviour of the ethylene polymers (see also [45 9]). 

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