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The effect of irradiation on morphology and properties of the PET/HDPE blends with trimethylol propane trimethacrylate (TMPTA)

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Abstract

The mechanical properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/high-density poly(ethylene) (PET/HDPE) blends were improved by γ-ray irradiation combined with using a cross-linking agent—trimethylol propane trimethacrylate (TMPTA). The effect of the weight ratio of PET/HDPE, the content of TMPTA and the absorbed dose on the phase morphology and the mechanical properties of the PET/HDPE blends were investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), gel fraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), tensile and impact tests. SEM images showed that the phase structure changed significantly as TMPTA coexistence. The results of tensile and impact tests indicated that their mechanical properties depended on their structures. FTIR spectra suggested that a new structure of HDPE-g-PET was generated. When the weight ratio of PET/HDPE blend was 80/20, the content of TMPTA was 1 wt% and the absorbed dose was 30 kGy, the tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength of irradiated blends were improved greatly compared with non-irradiated blends.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 2008AA03Z511) and the National Natural Science Foundation of Changchun (Project No. 05GG57) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), 230026, Hefei, People’s Republic of China

    Zeming Xiang, Huarong Liu & Xuewu Ge

  2. Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), 130022, Changchun, People’s Republic of China

    Pengyang Deng, Meihua Liu & Yuan Yin

Authors
  1. Zeming Xiang
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  2. Huarong Liu
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  3. Pengyang Deng
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  4. Meihua Liu
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  5. Yuan Yin
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  6. Xuewu Ge
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Correspondence to Huarong Liu or Pengyang Deng.

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Xiang, Z., Liu, H., Deng, P. et al. The effect of irradiation on morphology and properties of the PET/HDPE blends with trimethylol propane trimethacrylate (TMPTA). Polym. Bull. 63, 587–597 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-009-0109-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-009-0109-0

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