Strain hardening of molten thermoplastic polymers reinforced with poly(tetrafluoroethylene) nanofibers

摘要

The influence of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) nanofibers on the extensional viscosity of various molten thermoplastic polymers, including isotactic polypropylene (iPP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), and atactic polystyrene (PS), has been investigated. It has been shown that PTFE nanofibers, generated in situ by shearing of crystalline PTFE inclusions during compounding with another molten polymer, formed an entangled network, which in turn drastically changed the rheological behavior of polymers studied. The entangled network of PTFE nanofibers induced the strain hardening effect in the nanocomposites based on iPPs, HDPE, and PS, which do not show the strain hardening themselves. Moreover, the strain hardening in the nanocomposite with LDPE was enhanced in comparison to neat LDPE. The higher the content of PTFE nanofibers and the larger the strain rates applied, the more pronounced the strain hardening occurred. Additionally, the presence of PTFE nanofibers significantly improved the melt strength of studied thermoplastic polymers.