Morphology and micromechanical properties of ethylene/1-octene copolymers and their blends with high density polyethylene

The relationship between morphology and deformation behavior of selected ethylene/1-octene copolymers (EOCs) and their blends with high density polyethylene (HDPE) was investigated. The copolymers showed, depending on the 1-octene content, different morphologies ranging from lamellar to worm-like crystalline domains. The binary HDPE/EOC blends studied, which showed well phase-separated structures consistent with individual melting and crystallization behavior of the blend components, were characterized by a wide range of mechanical and micromechanical properties. The study of strain induced structural changes in an HDPE/EOC blend revealed that at large strains, the extensive stretching of the soft EOC phase is accompanied by rotation of lamellar stack along the strain axis and subsequent fragmentation of the crystals forming beaded-string-like structures. A significant depression in microhardness was observed in the copolymers. In their blends with HDPE, a deviation in microhardness behavior from the additivity law was observed. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.