Thermally Conductive Study of Polyethylene/Al2O3 Composite Networks Cross-linked by Electron Beam Irradiation

The surface-modifled Al2O3 particles were introduced into polyethylene(PE)to enhance the thermal conductivity,and PE/Al2O3 cross-linked networks with improved thermal and mechanical properties were prepared through electron beam(EB)irradiation technology.The incorporation of reactive irradiation sensitizer was useful in fabricating a high degree of cross-linking(DC)PE networks under a low irradiation dose.In the PE sample containing 2%sensitizer,DC ca.67.1%could be obtained under 60 kGy(1 kGy=1000 J/kg).EB-irradiation greatly improved thetensile stress of PE-based samples,and the tensile stresses of the samples with 0.2—5%TMPTA(trimethylolpr pane triacrvlate)under 60 kGy were 24.61—27.77 MPa.All the EB-irradiated samples had higher Vicat softening temperatures than the samples without irradiation.After treatment at 120 kGy,the Vicat softening temperatures of PE-Al2O3-44/TMPTA-2 increased from 127℃to 130.4℃.SEM images revealed that PE-Al2O3-5O samples with increased amount of Al2O3 particles showed a conduction"pathway,"and thennal conductivity reached 0.67 W/(m·K).Thus,high-performance pipes were extruded,which could satisfy the static hydraulic blasting test and exhibit improved thennal conduction capability.