Effects of a Radiation Crosslinking on a Drawn Microporous HDPE Film with a Nucleating Agent

The effects of crystallinity and radiation crosslinking on the physical properties of a microporous high density polyethylene (HDPE) film with Millad3988 as a nucleating agent were investigated. The pores of the HDPE film were affected by the crystallinity. The crystallinity of the HDPE films increased with increasing Millad3988 amount up to 0.1 wt% but decreased with further addition. The mechanical characteristics of the HDPE containing Millad3988 films improved with increasing irradiation dose up to 50 kGy, but decreased at 75 kGy due to severe degradation. The thermal shrinkage behavior of the HDPE films decreased with increasing radiation dose up to 50 kGy. The porosity of the stretched HDPE/Millad3988 films after gamma-ray radiation increased with increasing gamma-ray radiation dose up to 50 kGy. The pores of the irradiated films were formed more easily by a stretching due to the formation of a crosslinked structure.