Dissipative particle dynamics study on the phase morphologies of the ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene/ polypropylene/ poly(ethylene glycol) blends
writer：Gai Jinggang, Li Huilin, Schrauwen Cornelius, Hu Guohua
keywords：Dissipative particle dynamics， ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene
source：期刊
specific source：Polymer, 2009, 50(1): 336-346
Issue time：2009年
The dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation method has
been used to study mesophase formation of the binary UHMWPE/PP and ternary
UHMWPE/PP/PEG blends. The effects of shear rates and volume fractions of each
of the blend components on end-to-end distances of UHMWPE, diffusivities and mesoscale
morphologies of the blends have been investigated in detail. As compositions of
the UHMWPE/PP and UHMWPE/PP/PEG blends vary, the mesoscale simulations have
predicted the ordered structures with defined morphologies of lamellas,
perforated lamellas, hexagonal spheres, and bodycentered- cubic spheres.
Micelle-like melted structures between totally disordered and the ordered phases
have also been found in the UHMWPE/PP (10/90) blends. Immiscibility property of
UHMWPE, PP and PEG induces the phase separation and exhibits different
mesoscpic morphologies at different shear rates and volume fractions. Taking
the shear rates dependence of mesophase into account, the change in morphology
of the UHMWPE/PP/PEG blends with shear rate is also well studied in this work.
As a function of PP concentration, the end-to-end distances of UHMWPE are found
to decrease with the increase of PP concentration. This effect is more prominent
for a high amount of PP.