Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene: preparation and applications

Abstract Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is a kind of popular engineering material because of its unique properties stemming from high molecular weights. Nowadays, the preparations and applications of this type of material are widely researched. This review mainly focuses on the preparation of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene using three types of typical catalysts (heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts, Fujita’s catalysts and α-Diimine Nickel (II) catalysts) and applications in two significant areas (bulletproof membranes and lithium-ion batteries). Ziegler-Natta catalysts and Fujita’s catalysts favor the synthesis of linear ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, but α-Diimine Nickel (II) catalysis favors β-hydride elimination which leads to branched products. Changes in steric, composition, activators, temperature and pressure will affect the tendency towards different mechanisms and influence structures and properties of final products.