PROCESS FOR PREPARING POLYETHYLENE ARTICLES OF HIGH TENSILE STRENGTH AND MODULUS AND LOW CREEP AND ARTICLES THUS OBTAINED

摘要

Polyethylene articles having a high tensile strength above 2.0 GPa, a modulus above 70 GPa and a creep below 3 x 10<-><7> sec<-><1> are obtained via thermoreversible gelation of a solution of polyethylene with a Mv above 5 x 10<5> kg/kmole, followed by ultradrawing. As polyethylene a copolymer or a blend is used containing 2-20 lower alkyl side chains per 1000 carbon atoms.