Polyethylene compositions comprising a polar phenolic antioxidant and reduced dissipation factor, and methods thereof
A polyethylene composition comprising about 0.0001% to less than 0.22% by weight of a polar phenolic antioxidant, the polar phenolic antioxidant comprising a polar phenolic moiety and a non-polar C 3 -C 30 hydrocarbon moiety, wherein the polyethylene composition comprises a reduced dissipation factor versus the same polyethylene composition comprising less of the same polar phenolic antioxidant.
1 . A polyethylene composition comprising about 0.0001% to less than 0.22% by weight of a polar phenolic antioxidant, the polar phenolic antioxidant comprising a polar phenolic moiety and a non-polar C 3 -C 30 hydrocarbon moiety, wherein the polyethylene composition comprises a reduced dissipation factor versus the same polyethylene composition comprising less of the same polar phenolic antioxidant.
2 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 , wherein the non-polar C 3 -C 30 hydrocarbon moiety is a linear or branched C 3 -C 30 alkyl, C 3 -C 30 alkenyl, C 3 -C 30 alkynyl, C 3 -C 30 cycloalkyl group, or C 3 -C 30 aryl group, the C 3 -C 30 cycloalkyl group comprising a C 3 -C 10 cycloalkyl moiety optionally comprising at least one C 1 -C 27 substituent, and the C 3 -C 30 aryl group comprising a C 3 -C 10 aryl moiety optionally comprising at least one C 1 -C 27 substituent.
3 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 , wherein the non-polar C 3 -C 30 hydrocarbon moiety is selected from a non-polar C 8 -C 25 hydrocarbon moiety, and the C 8 -C 25 hydrocarbon moiety is a linear or branched C 8 -C 25 alkyl, C 8 -C 25 alkenyl, or C 8 -C 25 alkynyl.
4 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 , wherein the polar phenolic antioxidant is of formula (I):
wherein:
R 1 and R 2 are the same or different, and are selected from linear or branched C 1 -C 10 aliphatic groups, or C 3 -C 10 aryl groups, the C 3 -C 10 aryl groups optionally comprising at least one linear or branched C 1 -C 10 aliphatic substituent;
m ranges from 1 to 20; and
n ranges from 3 to 30.
5 . The polyethylene composition of claim 4 , wherein:
R 1 and R 2 are the same or different, and are selected from a linear or branched C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 1 -C 10 alkenyl, or C 1 -C 10 alkynyl groups;
m ranges from 1 to 10; and
n ranges from 8 to 25.
6 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 , wherein the polar phenolic antioxidant is octadecyl-3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionate.
7 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 comprising about 0.0005% to about 0.16% by weight of the polar phenolic antioxidant.
8 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 comprising about 0.02% to about 0.08% by weight of the polar phenolic antioxidant.
9 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 wherein the reduced dissipation factor is normalized and correlates to the following equation at 2 GHz:
DF PE =−3.8×10 −4 *PPA ppm +(1±0.55)
wherein:
DF PE is the normalized dissipation factor of the polyethylene composition, the normalized dissipation factor being normalized with respect to a value of 1.0; and
PPA ppm is the amount of the polar phenolic antioxidant present within the polyethylene composition in parts per million (ppm).
10 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 , wherein the reduced dissipation factor ranges from about 5×10 −6 to about 3×10 −5 at 2 GHz.
11 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 , wherein the reduced dissipation factor ranges from about 7.50×10 −6 to about 2.75×10 −5 at 2 GHz.
12 . The polyethylene composition of claim 1 , wherein the reduced dissipation factor ranges from about 8.8×10 −6 to about 2.5×10 −5 at 2 GHz.
13 . A cable or wire comprising a polyethylene composition comprising about 0.0001% to less than 0.22% by weight of a polar phenolic antioxidant, the polar phenolic antioxidant comprising a polar phenolic moiety and a non-polar C 3 -C 30 hydrocarbon moiety, wherein the cable or wire comprises a reduced dissipation factor versus the same cable or wire comprising less of the same polar phenolic antioxidant.
14 . The cable or wire of claim 12 , wherein the cable or wire is a coaxial cable.
15 . The cable or wire of claim 12 , wherein the polar phenolic antioxidant is added in an amount of about 0.0005% to about 0.16% by weight.
16 . A method for reducing the dissipation factor of a polyethylene composition comprising adding about 0.0001% to less than 0.22% by weight of a polar phenolic antioxidant to the polyethylene composition, the polar phenolic antioxidant comprising a polar phenolic moiety and a non-polar C 3 -C 30 hydrocarbon moiety, wherein the polyethylene composition comprises a reduced dissipation factor versus the same polyethylene composition comprising less of the same polar phenolic antioxidant.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the polar phenolic antioxidant is added in an amount of about 0.0005% to about 0.16% by weight.