Speaker
Description
Polyethylene is by far the most widely used and produced plastic in the world, mainly for packaging. However, polyethylene poses environmental problems as it does not degrade in the natural environment. Therefore, in view of the current and future environmental crisis, it is necessary to introduce certain alternatives.
The aim of the present work is to investigate different modified polyethylenes, which are degradable by incorporated ketone groups, for their thermal characteristics and structural properties. It also aims to determine whether these samples are suitable for future research work.
To answer this question, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements and X-ray measurements were carried out. The samples selected are a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) as reference and three modified polyethylenes with different CO contents.
The evaluation shows that the thermal properties regarding melting and crystallization point are very similar to the standard HDPE. Furthermore, the melting enthalpy indicates a lower crystallinity. Further investigations using X-ray scattering revealed that the crystalline layer thickness decreases depending on the CO content. The amorphous layer thickness becomes larger with increasing CO content.
Current research is being carried out in the field of NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), but also on the detailed evaluation of the small-angle X-ray scattering data with regard to isothermal long-term measurements in relation to crystal mobile and crystal fixed polymers and the distribution of the ketone groups in the chain during the crystallization process.
