Aging Dependent Slip Agent Surface Morphology of LLDPE Films

摘要

The ability to maintain stability of coefficient of friction (COF) for low density polyethylene (PE) films under varying environmental conditions and over long storage times has been a persisting issue for the flexible food and specialty packaging industry. One potential root cause for the increase of COF values over long aging time was hypothesized to be caused by re-absorption or back migration of the slip into the bulk of the PE film. We conducted a systematic study monitoring the change on slip agent coverage and morphology change on PE film surfaces including films aged at room temperature and at elevated temperatures. Our study did not find any evidence for the backward migration of slip agent into the bulk of the film. However, a significant change in slip agent morphology on the film surface was observed over long aging time at room temperature. This paper describes our investigation on erucamide, a slip agent, surface coverage and its morphology changes with respect to aging time and temperatures.