Preparation of nano-polyethylene fibres using Cp2ZrCl2/carbon nanotube catalytic system

Ethylene polymerization was carried out with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-supported Cp2ZrCl2 catalyst. Because of the catalyst pretreated on the surface of the MWNTs, the ethylene was expected to polymerize there. The influences of polymerization temperature and Al/Zr molar ratios on the morphologies of the resultant polyethylene were systematically investigated with SEM. The nano-polyethylene fibres were obtained owing to the fibres of original MWNTs were covered by polyethylene. The diameters of the nano-fibres were 80-130 nm. With the increase of reaction temperature, the “over load” of polyethylene on the surface of CNTs made the polyethylene fibres disappear.