Effect of Uniaxial Stretching on Molecular Orientation, Crystallinity and Oxygen Permeability of Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol

Abstract

Abstract This work studies the effects of uniaxial stretching on molecular orientation, crystallinity, crystallography and oxygen permeability of high barrier multilayer films based on EVOH barrier layer. Film samples were prepared using two different blow-up ratios (BUR) of 1 and 3. Uniaxial stretching was applied at 100°C using a tensile machine equipped with an environmental chamber. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to examine the molecular orientation in the EVOH layer before and after stretching and confirmed a considerable increase in the molecular orientation in the EVOH layer. Dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) results point to the perfection of EVOH crystal structure by applying uniaxial stretching at high temperatures. Oxygen permeability results showed a considerable 25% decrease after stretching of the sample with lower BUR while a significant 80% reduction in oxygen permeability was observed for the sample prepared at higher BUR. The mechanism involved in increasing oxygen permeability due to the uniaxial stretching at high temperature is discussed in detail.