| abstract |
A pseudo-gel comprising a suitable solvent in an amount of 1 to 10 percent by weight and an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene in an amount of 99 to 90 percent by weight, said polyethylene being a semicrystalline network with adjustable crystalline morphology comprising randomly dispersed and oriented chain-folded single crystals, stacks of single crystals, spherulite crystals, and extended-chain shish-kebab-type of fibrils with lengths up to a few millimeters and widths up to 20 mum. Also, the semicrystalline ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene obtained by removal of said solvent from the pseudo-gel. Further, the method for making the pseudo-gel and the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene product. |