On the nonisothermal melt crystallization kinetics of industrial batch crosslinked polyethylene

The chemical modification of commodity polymers such as polyethylene (PE) is a versatile synthetic approach for preparing materials that cannot be manufactured cost-effectively using conventional polymerization techniques. Aiming to improve PE character low contents of dicumyl peroxide (DCP), from 0% to 1.5% was added as crosslinker to an industrial batch (PEs mixture and additives). From tensile testing crosslinking provided higher elastic modulus most due to the restrained microstructure where XPEs macromolecular chains are interconnected also providing lower strain at break. Crosslinking effects on the nonisothermal melt crystallization rate (Cmax) and degree of crystallinity (Xc) were evaluated; Cmax increased with the cooling rates, whereas Xc increased upon DCP addition. The melt crystallization kinetics were thoroughly investigated applying Pseudo-Avrami, Ozawa, and Mo models. Ozawa failed to describe the crystallization most due to ignore the secondary crystallization and spherulites impingement at the end of crystallization while Pseudo-Avrami and Mo provided quite good fits. The activation energy was computed using Arrhenius' approach, crosslinked compounds presented higher energy consumption, whereas exception was verified for 0.5XPE which displayed the lowest energy and overall the best mechanical performance this is the most proper compound for industrial applications, such as packaging, and disposables as well as general goods.