Molecular structure of metallocene-catalyzed polyethylene: Rheologically relevant representation of branching architecture in single catalyst and blended systems

The goal of this work was to provide a usable framework for describing the molecular structure of long-chain branched, metallocene-catalyzed polyethylene (mPE). This will allow better understanding of structure-property relations for these materials and in the future allow the development of new metallocene based systems with tailor-made properties. In particular, we are interested in the relationship between molecular structure and rheological behavior of polyethylene and therefore represent the structure in terms that are relevant to the rheological properties. To provide an intuitive understanding of the structure, we present a ternary diagram showing clearly the independent variables in the system and allowing a quick analysis of blended systems.