Abstract
The paper studied the properties of the polyethylene (PE) based composite substances that was obtained by mechanical milling (MM). Low-density polyethylene and silicon (Si) in the some compositions, and PE and Si by activated carbon (C) additions were mechanically milled by planetary ball-mill in an argon atmosphere. Morphology of the powder obtained by MM was studied by optical microscope and electron microscope. X-ray analysis, DSC and electric resistivity of the samples were measured. MM brought about amorphization of PE in PE-Si powder. The addition of C accelerated the fine dispersing and mixing of PE-Si. The amorphous state in obtained MM PE powders including amorphous and fine carbon and Si are stably kept on through' heating. From the results obtained, the changes of the structure of the composites during MM process were considered as follows. MM brings about the repetition of a forging, a rolling and a folding to samples. This results in the fine mixing in the composite. The phenomena suggest that MM function transforms straight long chain PE molecules into tangled PE molecules.
