Aspects of the crosslinking of polyethylene with vinyl silane

The crosslinking reaction of low-density polyethylene with vinyl triethoxysilane was studied in great detail. The effects of a wide range of concentrations (0-27.33 phr silane and 0-1.25 phr benzoyl peroxide) on the mechanical properties, hot-set testing, gel contents, and burning behaviors of the resulting crosslinked polyethylene were studied. The effect of variations in the concentration of silane was found to be a dictating parameter for all these properties. Moreover, at or above a certain threshold concentration of silane (4.56 phr), samples not only qualified for hot-set testing but also showed other properties at an optimum level. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.