Assessment of the influence of mineral fillers on polyethylene crosslinking process in the presence of peroxide by rheometric method

摘要

The investigation results of the influence of mineral fillers on low-density polyethylene (PE-LD) crosslinking process taking place in the presence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) have been presented. The fillers used in the study were particulate materials (talc,chalk,magnesium hydroxide and alumina trihydrate) and layered organoclays (commercial as well as experimental products). The content of DCP was 2 wt. % and of a filler - 0 or 5 wt. %. The whole experiment (polymer melting,compounding and crosslinking) was carried out as a single run in the chamber of the measuring mixer - Haake PolyLab QC. In order to assess the influence of the fillers on crosslinking process quickly,we proposed the method basing on subtraction of torque values obtained during the process for two-component system (PE-LD/DCP) from analogical values obtained for three-component system (PE-LD/ DCP/filler). We consider this method being a very usefull tool,well supplementing the results obtained with use of other analytical methods.