

FOLLOWUS
a.State Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
b.School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
wang@ciac.ac.cn
Received:26 February 2026,
Revised:2026-03-31,
Accepted:07 April 2026,
Online First:20 July 2026,
Published:2026-05
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Tian, H.; Wu, C. J.; Wang, B. L. Upgrading commercially available polyethylene to high-value materials with strong mechanical performance and hydrophilicity by blending with ethylene/meta-methoxystyrene copolymers. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3707-5
Hui Tian, Chun-Ji Wu, Bao-Li Wang. Upgrading Commercially Available Polyethylene to High-value Materials with Strong Mechanical Performance and Hydrophilicity by Blending with Ethylene/
Tian, H.; Wu, C. J.; Wang, B. L. Upgrading commercially available polyethylene to high-value materials with strong mechanical performance and hydrophilicity by blending with ethylene/meta-methoxystyrene copolymers. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3707-5 DOI:
Hui Tian, Chun-Ji Wu, Bao-Li Wang. Upgrading Commercially Available Polyethylene to High-value Materials with Strong Mechanical Performance and Hydrophilicity by Blending with Ethylene/
Upgrading commercially available polyethylene to have both higher mechanical properties and surface hydrophilicity is of fundamental interest and practical importance
but the actual results usually suffer from a trade-off between mechanical performance and surface hydrophilicity. Herein
we report the preparation of eighteen high-density polyethylene (HDPE) blend materials
via
the simple physical blending with hydrophilic ethylene/
meta
-methoxystyrene (E-
m
MOS) copolymers (
P1
P2
and
P3
) used as macromolecular additives. After adding low blend ratios of the E-
m
MOS copolymers (2 wt%
5 wt% and 10 wt%)
the tensile strength
toughness and hydrophilicity of the resultant HDPE blends simultaneously increased. HDPE(SABIC)/
P3
blend showed the optimal comprehensive improvement in tensile strength (41.2 MPa versus 31.1 MPa)
elongation at break (1601% versus1083%)
and hydrophilicity (water contact angle
96.2° versus 106.4°) compared with commercial HDPE. SEM tests exhibited the HDPE/E-
m
MOS blends had good compatibilities. These HDPE materials also exhibited good processability
as evidenced by DSC and rheological measurements.
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