Comparison of the Effects of Some Modification Methods on the Characteristics of Ultrahigh-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene and Composites on Its Basis

For ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene and composites on its basis which contain graphite nanosheets, molybdenum disulfide, shungite, and montmorillonite as fillers, the surface energy is determined and the work of adhesion of water to their surface is calculated. It is shown that the surface energy of the composites prepared from ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene by polymerization filling in situ is close to the corresponding parameter of the original polyethylene; it does not exceed 35 mN/m. The methods of surface fluoridation, oxyfluorination, and oxygen plasma treatment considered as modification variants show that wetting of the polymer surface may be substantially improved owing to an increase in the surface energy. The highest effect on this characteristic is caused by oxyfluorination and oxygen plasma treatment. The efficiency of oxygen plasma treatment is demonstrated by the example of a change in strength upon peeling off 85000 Ondaflute ink from the original and treated samples. Using scanning electron microscopy, it is revealed that the surface modification is accompanied by a change in the morphology of surface layers of the samples.