Modification of Polyethylene

I. Introduction 231

II. Structure and Properties 231

III. Synthesis 234

IV. Orientation 249

V. Chlorination and Sulphochlorination 251

VI. Plasma Modification of PE 258

VII. Crosslinking of PE 261

VIII. Graft Modification 264

IX. Summary 268

Questions 269

References 269

I. Introduction Modification of polyethylene (PE) is an important technology because many useful products can be prepared from PE and modified PE. The low cost and the utility of modified PE products have made PE the leading commercial plastic worldwide. In the U. S. twice as much PE is produced per year as any other polymer [1,2]. This chapter presents the major techniques for synthesis and modification of PE.