Synthesis of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene: A differentiate material for specialty applications

• Published in: Materials science & engineering. B, Solid-state materials for advanced technology Solid-state materials for advanced technology, 2010-04, Vol.168 (1), p.132-135
• Main Authors: Padmanabhan, Sudhakar, Sarma, Krishna R., Rupak, Kishor, Sharma, Shashikant
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arrays; Average particle size; Bulk density; Entanglement; Materials science; Mg-Ti catalyst; Molecular weight; Morphology; Particle size distribution; Polyethylenes; Polymerization; Synthesis; UHMWPE
• ISSN: 0921-5107; 1873-4944
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mseb.2009.10.026

Tailoring the synthesis of a suitable Ziegler-Natta (ZN) catalyst coupled with optimized polymerization conditions using a suitable activator holds the key for an array of differentiated polymers with diverse and unique properties. Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is one such polymer which we have synthesized using TiCl 4 anchored on MgCl 2 as the support and activated using AlRR′ 2 (where R, R′ = iso-prenyl or isobutyl) under specific conditions. Here in we have accomplished a process for synthesizing UHMWPE in hydrocarbon as the medium with molecular weights ranging from 5 to 10 million g/mole. The differentiated polymers exhibited the desired properties such as particle size distribution (PSD), average particle size (APS), bulk density (BD) and molecular weight (MW) with controlled amount of fine and coarse particles. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) reflected the material to have uniform particle size distribution with a spherical morphology. The extent of entanglement was determined from thermal studies and it was found to be highly entangled.