Process of making microporous films of UHMWPE
AssigneeStamicarbon B.V.
InventorsPieter B. Pluyter, Paul Smith, Lambert H. T. Van Unen, Hendrikus J. J. Rutten
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Abstract
The invention relates to microporous films of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and to a process for the preparation thereof by forming a solution of UHMWPE in an evaporable solvent into a film and evaporating the solvent from the film at a temperature below the dissolution temperature, the shrinking tendency occurring in the film being prevented in at least one direction in the plane of the film.
Claims6
Process for the preparation of microporous films of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) by forming a film from a solution of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene in an evaporable and dissolving solvent and removing that solvent from the film, wherein said solvent is selected from the group consisting of decalin and tetralin, the solution of UHMWPE in the evaporable and dissolving solvent is formed into a film and the solvent is evaporated from the film at a temperature below the dissolution temperature and the shrinkage which can then occur in the film during evaporation is prevented in at least one direction in the plane of the film or the film is stretched in one or more directions in the plane of the film, such that porosity of the film is effected by the shrinkage prevention or by the stretching, the stretching occurring during evaporation of the solvent, after evaporation of the solvent, or a combination thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.