Rheological and morphological analysis of irradiated high and low density polyethylene samples

Abstract

The influence of intensity of the γ-irradiation on commercial high and low density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE) granules (Kazanorgsintez PJSC, Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia) on their rheological and morphological properties at irradiation doses of 5 and 10 kGy was studied. Experiments in the oscillation mode revealed an increase in the dynamic moduli values with increasing radiation dose compared to the initial samples. At the same γ-irradiation doses, the HDPE samples compared to the LDPE ones showed the greatest changes in rheological properties, while the zero shear viscosity of HDPE increased by order of magnitude compared to the initial one at the irradiation dose of 10 kGy. Morphology analysis of supramolecular structures revealed an increase in cob-web-type structures for the irradiated sample in comparison with the initial sample, which may indicate the formation of branched structures under γ-irradiation.

Keywords

• polyethylene
• γ-irradiation
• cobwebs structure