Preparation and Characterization of Multilayered High-density Polyethylene with Tunable Crystalline Structure

Yi-Jie Ma; Jia-Wei Gong; Bin Chen; Ying Zhang; Gan-Ji Zhong; Zhong-Ming Li; Xue-Qin Gao

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3363-1

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Preparation and Characterization of Multilayered High-density Polyethylene with Tunable Crystalline Structure

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2025-08-25

- Preparation and Characterization of Multilayered High-density Polyethylene with Tunable Crystalline Structure
- Preparation and Characterization of Multilayered High-density Polyethylene with Tunable Crystalline Structure
- 高分子科学（英文） 2025年43卷第9期页码：1616-1628
- Affiliations：
  
  a.College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
  b.Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, Erie, PA 16509, USA
- Author bio：
  
  gaoxueqin@scu.edu.cn
- Funds：
  
  This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52373045 and 52033005). We are also indebted to the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) in Shanghai, China, for SAXS experiments.
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3363-1
  中图分类号：
- 收稿日期：2025-02-20，
  
  修回日期：2025-04-06，
  
  录用日期：2025-04-17，
  
  网络出版日期：2025-07-23，
  
  纸质出版日期：2025-09-05
- Accepted：
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Ma, Y. J.; Gong, J. W.; Chen, B.; Zhang, Y.; Zhong, G. J.; Li, Z. M.; Gao, X. Q. Preparation and characterization of multilayered high-density polyethylene with tunable crystalline structure. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 1616–1628

Yi-Jie Ma, Jia-Wei Gong, Bin Chen, et al. Preparation and Characterization of Multilayered High-density Polyethylene with Tunable Crystalline Structure[J]. Chinese journal of polymer science, 2025, 43(9): 1616-1628.
Ma, Y. J.; Gong, J. W.; Chen, B.; Zhang, Y.; Zhong, G. J.; Li, Z. M.; Gao, X. Q. Preparation and characterization of multilayered high-density polyethylene with tunable crystalline structure. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 1616–1628 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3363-1.

Yi-Jie Ma, Jia-Wei Gong, Bin Chen, et al. Preparation and Characterization of Multilayered High-density Polyethylene with Tunable Crystalline Structure[J]. Chinese journal of polymer science, 2025, 43(9): 1616-1628. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3363-1.

摘要

A novel rotational shear system (RSS) was used to fabricate multi-layer self-reinforced HDPE pipes featuring alternating shish-kebab and spherulite structures. Controlled mandrel rotation and cooling aligned molecular chains to form high-strength structures. The annular tensile strength of the TSK pipe increased from 26.7 MPa to 76.3 MPa

a 185.8% enhancement. SKS tubes maintained excellent tensile strength (73.4 MPa) and achieved 50.1% elongation due to smaller shish-kebab crystals and reduced interlocking. This improvement is supported by 2D-SAXS analysis

which confirmed that crystal size and amorphous region thickness critically affect the mechanical performance of these multi-layer pipes.

Abstract

In rotationally extruded fittings

high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes prepared using conventional processing methods often suffer from poor pressure resistance and low toughness. This study introduces an innovative rotary shear system (RSS) to address these deficiencies through controlled mandrel rotation and cooling rates. We successfully prepared self-reinforced HDPE pipes with a three-layer structure combining spherical and shish-kebab crystals. Rotational processing aligned the molecular chains in the ring direction and formed shish-kebab crystals. As a result

the annular tensile strength of the rotationally processed three-layer shish-kebab structure (TSK) pipe increased from 26.7 MPa to 76.3 MPa

an enhancement of 185.8%. Notably

while maintaining excellent tensile strength (73.4 MPa)

the elongation at break of the spherulite shish-kebab spherulite (SKS) tubes was improved to 50.1%

as compared to 33.8% in the case of shish-kebab spherulite shish-kebab (KSK) tubes. This improvement can be attributed to the changes in the micro-morphology and polymer structure within the SKS tubes

specifically due to the formation of small-sized shish-kebab crystals and the low degrees of interlocking.In addition

2D-SAXS analysis revealed that KSK tubes have higher tensile strength due to smaller crystal sizes and larger shish dimensions

forming dense interlocking structures. In contrast

the SKS and TSK tubes had thicker amorphous regions and smaller shish sizes

resulting in reduced interlocking and mechanical performance.

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references

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