Enhancing Chain Mobility of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene by Regulating Residence Time under a Consecutive Elongational Flow for Improved Processability
Improving the processability of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and understanding the effect of the polymeric chain mobility has long been a challenging task. Herein, we show that UHMWPE without any processing aids can be processed at a lower temperature of 180 °C compared to conven...
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doaj-d92fa0af8e2f4460af59e7ba8489f5f72021-07-15T15:43:52ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602021-06-01132192219210.3390/polym13132192Enhancing Chain Mobility of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene by Regulating Residence Time under a Consecutive Elongational Flow for Improved ProcessabilityXiaochuan Chen0Xiaotong Wang1Yanhong Feng2Jinping Qu3Dingshan Yu4Changlin Cao5Xudong Chen6Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer-Based Composites of Guangdong Province, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, ChinaKey Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer-Based Composites of Guangdong Province, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, ChinaKey Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education, National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaKey Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education, National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaKey Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer-Based Composites of Guangdong Province, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, ChinaFujian Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, Engineering Research Center of Polymer Green Recycling of Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, ChinaKey Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer-Based Composites of Guangdong Province, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, ChinaImproving the processability of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and understanding the effect of the polymeric chain mobility has long been a challenging task. Herein, we show that UHMWPE without any processing aids can be processed at a lower temperature of 180 °C compared to conventional processing temperatures (~250 °C) under a continuous elongational flow (CEF) by using an eccentric rotor extruder (ERE). By probing the effect of the residence time of UHMWPE samples under a CEF on the morphology, rheological behavior and molecular orientation, we find that the long polymer chains of UHMWPE are apt to orientate under a consecutive volume elongational deformation, thereby leading to a higher residual stress for the extruded sample. Meanwhile, the residence time of samples can regulate the polymeric chain mobility, giving rise to the simultaneous decrease of the melting defects and residual stress as well as Hermans orientation function with increasing residence time from 0 to 60 s. This also engenders the enhanced diffusion of UHMWPE segments, resulting in a defect-free morphology and higher entanglement with lower crystallinity but without causing obvious thermal oxidative degradation of UHMWPE. This interesting result could originate from the fast chain entanglement and particle welding enabled by a desirably short residence time, which could be explained by the empirical, entropy-driven melting explosion mechanism.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/13/2192elongational flowultrahigh molecular weight polyethyleneentanglementmolecular orientationdiffusion |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Xiaochuan Chen Xiaotong Wang Yanhong Feng Jinping Qu Dingshan Yu Changlin Cao Xudong Chen |
spellingShingle |
Xiaochuan Chen Xiaotong Wang Yanhong Feng Jinping Qu Dingshan Yu Changlin Cao Xudong Chen Enhancing Chain Mobility of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene by Regulating Residence Time under a Consecutive Elongational Flow for Improved Processability Polymers elongational flow ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene entanglement molecular orientation diffusion |
author_facet |
Xiaochuan Chen Xiaotong Wang Yanhong Feng Jinping Qu Dingshan Yu Changlin Cao Xudong Chen |
author_sort |
Xiaochuan Chen |
title |
Enhancing Chain Mobility of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene by Regulating Residence Time under a Consecutive Elongational Flow for Improved Processability |
title_short |
Enhancing Chain Mobility of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene by Regulating Residence Time under a Consecutive Elongational Flow for Improved Processability |
title_full |
Enhancing Chain Mobility of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene by Regulating Residence Time under a Consecutive Elongational Flow for Improved Processability |
title_fullStr |
Enhancing Chain Mobility of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene by Regulating Residence Time under a Consecutive Elongational Flow for Improved Processability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Enhancing Chain Mobility of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene by Regulating Residence Time under a Consecutive Elongational Flow for Improved Processability |
title_sort |
enhancing chain mobility of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene by regulating residence time under a consecutive elongational flow for improved processability |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Polymers |
issn |
2073-4360 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
Improving the processability of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and understanding the effect of the polymeric chain mobility has long been a challenging task. Herein, we show that UHMWPE without any processing aids can be processed at a lower temperature of 180 °C compared to conventional processing temperatures (~250 °C) under a continuous elongational flow (CEF) by using an eccentric rotor extruder (ERE). By probing the effect of the residence time of UHMWPE samples under a CEF on the morphology, rheological behavior and molecular orientation, we find that the long polymer chains of UHMWPE are apt to orientate under a consecutive volume elongational deformation, thereby leading to a higher residual stress for the extruded sample. Meanwhile, the residence time of samples can regulate the polymeric chain mobility, giving rise to the simultaneous decrease of the melting defects and residual stress as well as Hermans orientation function with increasing residence time from 0 to 60 s. This also engenders the enhanced diffusion of UHMWPE segments, resulting in a defect-free morphology and higher entanglement with lower crystallinity but without causing obvious thermal oxidative degradation of UHMWPE. This interesting result could originate from the fast chain entanglement and particle welding enabled by a desirably short residence time, which could be explained by the empirical, entropy-driven melting explosion mechanism. |
topic |
elongational flow ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene entanglement molecular orientation diffusion |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/13/2192 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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