Rheology, crystallization, and enhanced mechanical properties of uniaxially oriented ethylene-octene copolymer/polyolefin elastomer blends

The application of polyethylene in artificial turf promotes research on the processing and properties of uniaxial extension modified polyethylene materials. The effects of comonomer (octene/butene) structure on the properties of pre-stretched linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)/polyolefin elastomer (POE) blends are investigated. The melt tensile stress and melt stretch ratio of LLDPE ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC)/POE reach 4.0 x 10(5) Pa and 12.8, respectively. At the pre-stretching ratio lambda = 5, the tensile strength of EOC/POE lambda 5 reaches 62.5 MPa, the critical length is 5.7 mm, and the strain hardening degree increases. Differential scanning calorimetry, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction show the crystallinity of EOC/POE lambda 5 is higher than that of LLDPE ethylene-butene copolymer (EBC)/POE lambda 5. Large short-chain branch length EOC is demonstrated to rebuild the "physical crosslinking point " after pre-stretched, thereby enhancing the interaction between molecular chains in EOC/POE lambda 5. This research provides a new clue for the development of artificial turf materials.