Study on the Crystallization and Morphology of HDPE-g-GMA Modified PA66/UHMWPE Blends

Abstract

By means of melt compounding method, the Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) grafted HDPE modified Polyamide 66 (PA66) with ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) blends were prepared via the co-rotating twin screw extruder．The effects of different UHMWPE/HDPE contents on properties of PA66/UHMWPE blends were investigated．Meanwhile, the mechanical properties such as tensile and impact strength etc. were investigated. By using the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), the crystalline and morphology of PA66/UHMWPE blends were analyzed. The results show that UHMWPE toughened PA66 samples exhibit significantly enhanced impact strength and elongation at break comparison with natural PA66. The samples of PA66 with 30% of UHMWPE/HDPE (mass ratio 3/7) blends show impact strength about 2 times and elongation at yield 7 times more than those of natural PA66．The behavior of HDPE-g-GMA shows an effective compatibilizer for PA66/UHMWPE blends, when the mass ratio of PA66/(UHMWPE/HDPE) at 70:30, the blend indicates the best comprehensive property. The investigation on crystallization and morphology of PA66 and their blends show that the behaviors of melting about the two components are independent either PA66 or UHMWPE/HDPE. There are independent melting behaviors, meanwhile, interacted each other between PA66 and UHMWPE. Due to the good compatibility which HDPE-g-GMA contributed, the homogenous PA66/UHMWPE blends could be achieved. The photographs of SEM analysis indicate that the interface action of PA66 and polyethylene is enhanced by compatibilizer HDPE-g-GMA.