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. Note, however, that the C−H Molecular geometry are not 90° as this diagram would indicate, but are approximately 110°, since each
carbon atom is
tetrahedron (Orbital hybridisation).
"Polythene" redirects here. For the Feeder (band) album, see Polythene (album).
Polyethylene (IUPAC name
polyethene) is a
thermoplastic commodity heavily used in consumer products. Over 60 million tons of the material are produced worldwide every year.
Description
Polyethylene is a polymer consisting of long chains of the monomer
ethylene (
IUPAC name ethene). The recommended scientific name 'polyethene' is systematically derived from the scientific name of the monomer.A Guide to IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1993).J. KAHOVEC, R. B. FOX and K. HATADA; “Nomenclature of regular single-strand organic polymers (IUPAC Recommendations 2002);” Pure and Applied Chemistry; IUPAC; 2002; 74 (10): pp. 1921–1956. In certain circumstances it is useful to use a structure–based nomenclature. In such cases
IUPAC recommends
poly(methylene). The difference is due to the 'opening up' of the monomer's double bond upon polymerisation.
In the polymer industry the name is sometimes shortened to
PE, in a manner similar to that by which other polymers like
polypropylene and
polystyrene are shortened to PP and PS, respectively. In the
United Kingdom the polymer is commonly called
polythene, although this is not recognised scientifically.
The ethene molecule (known almost universally by its common name ethylene), C2H4 is CH2=CH2, Two
Methylene connected by a double bond, thus:
Polyethylene is created through
polymerization of ethene. It can be produced through
radical polymerization, anionic addition polymerization, Coordination polymerization or
cationic addition polymerization. This is because ethene does not have any substituent groups that influence the stability of the propagation head of the polymer. Each of these methods results in a different type of polyethylene.
Classification of polyethylenes
Polyethylene is classified into several different categories based mostly on its density and branching. The mechanical properties of PE depend significantly on variables such as the extent and type of branching, the crystal structure, and the
molecular weight.
UHMWPE is polyethylene with a molecular weight numbering in the millions, usually between 3.1 and 5.67 million. The high molecular weight results in less efficient packing of the chains into the crystal structure as evidenced by densities less than high density polyethylene (e.g. 0.930 - 0.935 g/cm3). The high
molecular weight results in a very
toughness material. UHMWPE can be made through any catalyst technology, although Ziegler catalysts are most common. Because of its outstanding toughness, cut, wear and excellent chemical resistance, UHWMPE is used in a wide diversity of applications. These include can and bottle handling machine parts, moving parts on weaving machines, bearings, gears, artificial joints, edge protection on ice rinks, butchers' chopping boards. It competes with Aramid in bulletproof vests as Spectra (or
Dyneema) fibers.
HDPE is defined by a density of greater or equal to 0.941 g/cm3. HDPE has a low degree of branching and thus stronger intermolecular forces and tensile strength. HDPE can be produced by chromium/silica catalysts,
Ziegler-Natta catalysts or metallocene catalysts. The lack of branching is ensured by an appropriate choice of catalyst (e.g.
chromium catalysts or Ziegler-Natta catalysts) and reaction conditions. HDPE is used in products and packaging such as milk jugs, detergent bottles, margarine tubs, garbage containers and water pipes.
HDPE is also widely used in the fireworks community. In tubes of varying length (depending on the size of the ordnance), HDPE is used as a replacement for the supplied cardboard
mortar (weapon) tubes for two primary reasons. One, it is much safer than the supplied cardboard tubes because if a shell were to malfunction and explode inside (
flower pot) an HDPE tube, the tube will not shatter. The second reason is that they are reusable allowing designers to create multiple shot mortar racks.
Pyrotechnicians discourage the use of
polyvinyl chloride tubing in mortar tubes because it tends to shatter, sending shards of plastic at possible spectators, and will not show up in
x-rays.
PEX is a medium- to high-density polyethylene containing
cross-link bonds introduced into the polymer structure, changing the thermoplast into an elastomer. The high-temperature properties of the polymer are improved, its flow is reduced and its chemical resistance is enhanced. PEX is used in some potable water plumbing systems, as tubes made of the material can be expanded to fit over a metal nipple, and it will slowly return to its original shape, forming a permanent, water-tight connection.
MDPE is defined by a density range of 0.926 - 0.940 g/cm3. MDPE can be produced by chromium/silica catalysts, Ziegler-Natta catalysts or metallocene catalysts.MDPE has good shock and drop resistance properties. It also is less notch sensitive than HDPE, stress cracking resistance is better than HDPE. MDPE is typically used in gas pipes and fittings, sacks, shrink film, packaging film, carrier bags, screw closures.
LLDPE is defined by a density range of 0.915 - 0.925 g/cm3. is a substantially linear polymer, with significant numbers of short branches, commonly made by copolymerization of ethylene with short-chain
alpha-olefins (e.g. 1-butene,
1-hexene, and
1-octene). LLDPE has higher tensile strength than LDPE. Exhibits higher impact and puncture resistance than LDPE. Lower thickness (gauge) films can be blown compared to LDPE, with better environmental stress cracking resistance compared to LDPE but is not as easy to process. LLDPE is used in packaging, particularly film for bags and sheets. Lower thickness (gauge) may be used compared to LDPE. Cable covering, toys, lids, buckets and containers, pipe. While other applications are available, LLDPE is used predominantly in film applications due to its toughness, flexibility, and relative transparency.
LDPE is defined by a density range of 0.910 - 0.940 g/cm3. LDPE has a high degree of short and long chain branching, which means that the chains do not pack into the
crystal structure as well. It has therefore less strong intermolecular forces as the
instantaneous-dipole induced-dipole attraction is less. This results in a lower
tensile strength and increased ductility. LDPE is created by
Radical_polymerization. The high degree of branches with long chains gives molten LDPE unique and desirable flow properties. LDPE is used for both rigid containers and plastic film applications such as plastic bags and film wrap.
VLDPE is defined by a density range of 0.880 - 0.915 g/cm3. is a substantially linear polymer, with high levels of short chain branches, commonly made by copolymerization of ethylene with short-chain alpha-olefins (e.g. 1-butene, 1-hexene, and 1-octene). VLDPE is most commonly produced using metallocene catalysts due to the greater co-monomer incorporation exhibited by these catalysts. VLDPE’s are used for hose and tubing, ice and frozen food bags, food packaging and stretch wrap, as well as impact modifiers when blended with other polymers.
Recently, much research activity has focused on the nature and distribution of long chain branches in polyethylene. In HDPE, a relatively small number of these branches, perhaps 1 in 100 or 1,000 branches per backbone carbon, can significantly affect the rheology properties of the polymer.
Ethylene copolymers
In addition to
copolymerization with alpha-olefins, ethylene can also be copolymerized with a wide range of other monomers and ionic composition that creates ionized free radicals. Common examples include
vinyl acetate (resulting product is
ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, or EVA, widely used in athletic shoe sole foams), and a variety of acrylates (applications include packaging and sporting goods).
History
Polyethylene was first synthesized by the Germany chemist Hans von Pechmann, who prepared it by accident in 1898 while heating diazomethane. When his colleagues
Eugen Bamberger and
Friedrich Tschirner characterized the white, waxy substance he had created, they recognized that it contained long -CH2- chains and termed it
polymethylene.
The first industrially practical polyethylene synthesis was discovered (again by accident) in 1933 by Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson at the Imperial Chemical Industries works in
Northwich,
England. Upon applying extremely high pressure (several hundred atmospheres) to a mixture of ethylene and benzaldehyde, they again produced a white waxy material. Because the reaction had been initiated by trace
oxygen contamination in their apparatus, the experiment was at first difficult to reproduce. It was not until 1935 that another ICI chemist, Michael Perrin, developed this accident into a reproducible high-pressure synthesis for polyethylene that became the basis for industrial LDPE production beginning in 1939.
Subsequent landmarks in polyethylene synthesis have revolved around the development of several types of
catalyst that promote ethylene polymerization at more mild temperatures and pressures. The first of these was a
chromium trioxide based catalyst discovered in 1951 by Robert Banks (chemist) and
J. Paul Hogan at Phillips Petroleum. In 1953, the German chemist Karl Ziegler developed a catalytic system based on titanium halides and organoaluminum compounds that worked at even milder conditions than the Phillips catalyst. The Phillips catalyst is less expensive and easier to work with, however, and both methods are used in industrial practice.
By the end of the 1950s both the Phillips and
Ziegler-Natta catalyst type catalysts were being used for HDPE production. Phillips' initially had difficulties producing a HDPE product of uniform quality, and filled warehouses with off-specification plastic. However, financial ruin was unexpectedly averted in 1957, when the
hula hoop, a toy consisting of a circular polyethylene tube, became a fad among youth in the United States.
A third type of catalytic system, one based on metallocenes, was discovered in 1976 in Germany by
Walter Kaminsky and
Hansjörg Sinn. The Ziegler and metallocene catalyst families have since proven to be very flexible at copolymerizing ethylene with other olefins and have become the basis for the wide range of polyethylene resins available today, including very low density polyethylene , and
linear low density polyethylene . Such resins, in the form of fibers like Dyneema, have (as of 2005) begun to replace
aramids in many high-strength applications.
Until recently, the metallocenes were the most active single-site catalysts for ethylene polymerisation known - new catalysts are typically compared to zirconocene dichloride. Much effort is currently being exerted on developing new single-site (so-called Post-metallocene catalyst) catalysts, that may allow greater tuning of the polymer structure than is possible with metallocenes. Recently, work by Fujita at the Mitsui corporation (amongst others) has demonstrated that certain salicylaldimine complexes of
Group 4 element metals show substantially higher activity than the metallocenes.
Physical properties
Depending on the
crystal structure and molecular weight, a melting point and
glass transition may or may not be observable. The temperature at which these occur varies strongly with the type of polyethylene. For common commercial grades of medium-density and high-density polyethylene, the melting point is typically in the range 120-130 °C. The melt point for average commercial low-density polyethylene is typically 105-115 °C. Most LDPE, MDPE, and HDPE grades have excellent chemical resistance and do not dissolve at room temperature because of the crystallinity. Polyethylene (other than cross-linked polyethylene) usually can be dissolved at elevated temperatures in
aromatic hydrocarbons, such as toluene or xylene, or chlorinated solvents, such as trichloroethane or trichlorobenzene.
References
External links
. Note, however, that the C−H
Molecular geometry are not 90° as this diagram would indicate, but are approximately 110°, since each carbon atom is tetrahedron (
Orbital hybridisation).
"Polythene" redirects here. For the Feeder (band) album, see Polythene (album).
Polyethylene (IUPAC name
polyethene) is a thermoplastic commodity heavily used in consumer products. Over 60 million tons of the material are produced worldwide every year.
Description
Polyethylene is a
polymer consisting of long chains of the
monomer ethylene (
IUPAC name
ethene). The recommended scientific name 'polyethene' is systematically derived from the scientific name of the monomer.A Guide to IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1993).J. KAHOVEC, R. B. FOX and K. HATADA; “Nomenclature of regular single-strand organic polymers (IUPAC Recommendations 2002);” Pure and Applied Chemistry; IUPAC; 2002; 74 (10): pp. 1921–1956. In certain circumstances it is useful to use a structure–based nomenclature. In such cases
IUPAC recommends
poly(methylene). The difference is due to the 'opening up' of the monomer's double bond upon polymerisation.
In the polymer industry the name is sometimes shortened to
PE, in a manner similar to that by which other polymers like polypropylene and polystyrene are shortened to PP and PS, respectively. In the
United Kingdom the polymer is commonly called
polythene, although this is not recognised scientifically.
The ethene molecule (known almost universally by its common name ethylene), C2H4 is CH2=CH2, Two
Methylene connected by a double bond, thus:
Polyethylene is created through
polymerization of ethene. It can be produced through radical polymerization, anionic addition polymerization,
Coordination polymerization or cationic addition polymerization. This is because ethene does not have any substituent groups that influence the stability of the propagation head of the polymer. Each of these methods results in a different type of polyethylene.
Classification of polyethylenes
Polyethylene is classified into several different categories based mostly on its
density and
branching. The mechanical properties of PE depend significantly on variables such as the extent and type of branching, the crystal structure, and the molecular weight.
UHMWPE is polyethylene with a molecular weight numbering in the millions, usually between 3.1 and 5.67 million. The high molecular weight results in less efficient packing of the chains into the crystal structure as evidenced by densities less than high density polyethylene (e.g. 0.930 - 0.935 g/cm3). The high
molecular weight results in a very
toughness material. UHMWPE can be made through any catalyst technology, although Ziegler catalysts are most common. Because of its outstanding toughness, cut, wear and excellent chemical resistance, UHWMPE is used in a wide diversity of applications. These include can and bottle handling machine parts, moving parts on weaving machines, bearings, gears, artificial joints, edge protection on ice rinks, butchers' chopping boards. It competes with Aramid in
bulletproof vests as Spectra (or
Dyneema) fibers.
HDPE is defined by a density of greater or equal to 0.941 g/cm3. HDPE has a low degree of branching and thus stronger intermolecular forces and tensile strength. HDPE can be produced by chromium/silica catalysts,
Ziegler-Natta catalysts or
metallocene catalysts. The lack of branching is ensured by an appropriate choice of catalyst (e.g.
chromium catalysts or Ziegler-Natta catalysts) and reaction conditions. HDPE is used in products and packaging such as milk jugs, detergent bottles, margarine tubs, garbage containers and water pipes.
HDPE is also widely used in the
fireworks community. In tubes of varying length (depending on the size of the ordnance), HDPE is used as a replacement for the supplied cardboard mortar (weapon) tubes for two primary reasons. One, it is much safer than the supplied cardboard tubes because if a shell were to malfunction and explode inside (
flower pot) an HDPE tube, the tube will not shatter. The second reason is that they are reusable allowing designers to create multiple shot mortar racks. Pyrotechnicians discourage the use of polyvinyl chloride tubing in mortar tubes because it tends to shatter, sending
shards of plastic at possible spectators, and will not show up in
x-rays.
PEX is a medium- to high-density polyethylene containing
cross-link bonds introduced into the polymer structure, changing the thermoplast into an elastomer. The high-temperature properties of the polymer are improved, its flow is reduced and its chemical resistance is enhanced. PEX is used in some potable water plumbing systems, as tubes made of the material can be expanded to fit over a metal nipple, and it will slowly return to its original shape, forming a permanent, water-tight connection.
MDPE is defined by a density range of 0.926 - 0.940 g/cm3. MDPE can be produced by chromium/silica catalysts, Ziegler-Natta catalysts or metallocene catalysts.MDPE has good shock and drop resistance properties. It also is less notch sensitive than HDPE, stress cracking resistance is better than HDPE. MDPE is typically used in gas pipes and fittings, sacks, shrink film, packaging film, carrier bags, screw closures.
LLDPE is defined by a density range of 0.915 - 0.925 g/cm3. is a substantially linear polymer, with significant numbers of short branches, commonly made by
copolymerization of ethylene with short-chain
alpha-olefins (e.g.
1-butene, 1-hexene, and
1-octene). LLDPE has higher tensile strength than LDPE. Exhibits higher impact and puncture resistance than LDPE. Lower thickness (gauge) films can be blown compared to LDPE, with better environmental stress cracking resistance compared to LDPE but is not as easy to process. LLDPE is used in packaging, particularly film for bags and sheets. Lower thickness (gauge) may be used compared to LDPE. Cable covering, toys, lids, buckets and containers, pipe. While other applications are available, LLDPE is used predominantly in film applications due to its toughness, flexibility, and relative transparency.
LDPE is defined by a density range of 0.910 - 0.940 g/cm3. LDPE has a high degree of short and long chain branching, which means that the chains do not pack into the
crystal structure as well. It has therefore less strong intermolecular forces as the
instantaneous-dipole induced-dipole attraction is less. This results in a lower
tensile strength and increased
ductility. LDPE is created by Radical_polymerization. The high degree of branches with long chains gives molten LDPE unique and desirable flow properties. LDPE is used for both rigid containers and plastic film applications such as plastic bags and film wrap.
VLDPE is defined by a density range of 0.880 - 0.915 g/cm3. is a substantially linear polymer, with high levels of short chain branches, commonly made by copolymerization of ethylene with short-chain alpha-olefins (e.g. 1-butene, 1-hexene, and 1-octene). VLDPE is most commonly produced using metallocene catalysts due to the greater co-monomer incorporation exhibited by these catalysts. VLDPE’s are used for hose and tubing, ice and frozen food bags, food packaging and stretch wrap, as well as impact modifiers when blended with other polymers.
Recently, much research activity has focused on the nature and distribution of long chain branches in polyethylene. In HDPE, a relatively small number of these branches, perhaps 1 in 100 or 1,000 branches per backbone carbon, can significantly affect the
rheology properties of the polymer.
Ethylene copolymers
In addition to copolymerization with alpha-olefins, ethylene can also be copolymerized with a wide range of other monomers and ionic composition that creates ionized free radicals. Common examples include vinyl acetate (resulting product is
ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, or EVA, widely used in athletic shoe sole foams), and a variety of acrylates (applications include packaging and sporting goods).
History
Polyethylene was first synthesized by the Germany chemist
Hans von Pechmann, who prepared it by accident in 1898 while heating
diazomethane. When his colleagues Eugen Bamberger and
Friedrich Tschirner characterized the white, waxy substance he had created, they recognized that it contained long -CH2- chains and termed it
polymethylene.
The first industrially practical polyethylene synthesis was discovered (again by accident) in 1933 by Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson at the
Imperial Chemical Industries works in
Northwich,
England. Upon applying extremely high pressure (several hundred atmospheres) to a mixture of ethylene and benzaldehyde, they again produced a white waxy material. Because the reaction had been initiated by trace oxygen contamination in their apparatus, the experiment was at first difficult to reproduce. It was not until 1935 that another ICI chemist,
Michael Perrin, developed this accident into a reproducible high-pressure synthesis for polyethylene that became the basis for industrial LDPE production beginning in 1939.
Subsequent landmarks in polyethylene synthesis have revolved around the development of several types of
catalyst that promote ethylene polymerization at more mild temperatures and pressures. The first of these was a chromium trioxide based catalyst discovered in 1951 by
Robert Banks (chemist) and J. Paul Hogan at
Phillips Petroleum. In 1953, the German chemist Karl Ziegler developed a catalytic system based on
titanium halides and organoaluminum compounds that worked at even milder conditions than the Phillips catalyst. The Phillips catalyst is less expensive and easier to work with, however, and both methods are used in industrial practice.
By the end of the 1950s both the Phillips and Ziegler-Natta catalyst type catalysts were being used for HDPE production. Phillips' initially had difficulties producing a HDPE product of uniform quality, and filled warehouses with off-specification plastic. However, financial ruin was unexpectedly averted in 1957, when the hula hoop, a toy consisting of a circular polyethylene tube, became a fad among youth in the United States.
A third type of catalytic system, one based on metallocenes, was discovered in 1976 in Germany by
Walter Kaminsky and
Hansjörg Sinn. The Ziegler and metallocene catalyst families have since proven to be very flexible at copolymerizing ethylene with other
olefins and have become the basis for the wide range of polyethylene resins available today, including very low density polyethylene , and
linear low density polyethylene . Such resins, in the form of fibers like
Dyneema, have (as of 2005) begun to replace aramids in many high-strength applications.
Until recently, the metallocenes were the most active single-site catalysts for ethylene polymerisation known - new catalysts are typically compared to zirconocene dichloride. Much effort is currently being exerted on developing new single-site (so-called
Post-metallocene catalyst) catalysts, that may allow greater tuning of the polymer structure than is possible with metallocenes. Recently, work by Fujita at the
Mitsui corporation (amongst others) has demonstrated that certain salicylaldimine complexes of Group 4 element metals show substantially higher activity than the metallocenes.
Physical properties
Depending on the crystal structure and
molecular weight, a
melting point and glass transition may or may not be observable. The temperature at which these occur varies strongly with the type of polyethylene. For common commercial grades of medium-density and high-density polyethylene, the melting point is typically in the range 120-130 °C. The melt point for average commercial low-density polyethylene is typically 105-115 °C. Most LDPE, MDPE, and HDPE grades have excellent chemical resistance and do not dissolve at room temperature because of the crystallinity. Polyethylene (other than cross-linked polyethylene) usually can be dissolved at elevated temperatures in aromatic hydrocarbons, such as toluene or
xylene, or chlorinated solvents, such as trichloroethane or
trichlorobenzene.
References
External links
Polyethylene - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Polyethylene or polythene (IUPAC name poly(ethene)) is a thermoplastic commodity heavily used in consumer products (notably the plastic shopping bag).
Polyethylene glycol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), also known as poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) or polyoxyethylene (POE), are the most commercially important polyethers. PEG, PEO or POE refers to an ...
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by Robert H. Olley University of Reading Polymer Physics Centre J. J. Thomson Physical Laboratory, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AF, England last update: 29/Apr/2002
Polyethylene Home
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