Improvement of Mechanical Properties and Ultraviolet Resistance of Polyethylene Pipe Materials Using High Density Polyethylene Matrix Grafted Carbon Black

Abstract

In recent years, high grade high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe materials are being more and more widely used for water and gas supply. Carbon black (CB) is usually used as an anti-UV-light reagent for pipe materials. However, homogeneous dispersion of CB in the HDPE matrix and modification of the interface has always been a great challenge. In this work, HDPE matrix grafted CB (HDPE-g-CB) was successfully prepared through HDPE radicals formation by a thermo-mechanical method and subsequent radical capture by the CB surface. The weight percentage of grafted HDPE approached 10 wt% and the modification sharply reduced the surface free energy of the CB. The SEM (scanning electron micrographs) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) results showed that HDPE-g-CB was uniformly dispersed in the HDPE pipe materials and the domain size of the dispersed phase was remarkably decreased from that in HDPE/CB. Therefore, compared with the HDPE/CB, the mechanical properties and ultraviolet (UV) resistance of HDPE/HDPE-g-CB were significantly improved, positively influencing the expected life span of pipelines.