Artificial turf yarn

Abstract

An artificial turf comprising a turf yarn prepared from an ethylene-based polymer composition comprising less than or equal to 100 percent by weight of the units derived from ethylene; and less than 30 percent by weight of units derived from one or more α-olefin comonomers; wherein said ethylene-based polymer composition is characterized by having a Comonomer Distribution Constant of equal to or greater than 40, a vinyl unsaturation of less than 100 vinyls per one million carbon atoms present in the backbone of the ethylene-based polymer composition; a zero shear viscosity ratio (ZSVR) equal to or greater than 1.75; a density in the range of 0.915 to 0.930 g/cm 3 , a melt index (1 2 ) in the range of from 0.8 to 5 g/10 minutes, a molecular weight distribution (M w /M n ) in the range of from 2 to 3.6, and a molecular weight distribution (M z /M w ) equal to or less than 3; and wherein the turf yarn exhibits one or more of the following properties (a) shrink of less than 4.8%, and (b) curl of less than 0.5 is provided.

1 . An artificial turf comprising:
 a turf yarn prepared from an ethylene-based polymer composition comprising:
 less than or equal to 100 percent by weight of the units derived from ethylene; and 
 less than 30 percent by weight of units derived from one or more α-olefin comonomers; 
 wherein said ethylene-based polymer composition is characterized by having a Comonomer Distribution Constant of equal to or greater than 40, a vinyl unsaturation of less than 100 vinyls per one million carbon atoms present in the backbone of the ethylene-based polymer composition; a zero shear viscosity ratio (ZSVR) equal to or greater than 1.75; a density in the range of 0.915 to 0.930 g/cm 3 , a melt index (1 2 ) in the range of from 0.8 to 5 g/10 minutes, a molecular weight distribution (M w /M n ) in the range of from 2 to 3.6, and a molecular weight distribution (M z /M w ) equal to or less than 3; and 
   wherein the turf yarn exhibits one or more of the following properties (a) shrink of less than 4.8%, and (b) curl of less than 0.5.   
     
     
         2 . The artificial turf according to  claim 1 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits a shrink of less than 4.5%. 
     
     
         3 . The artificial turf according to  claim 1 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits a curl of less than 0.4. 
     
     
         4 . The artificial turf according to  claim 1 , wherein the ethylene-based polymer composition has an I 2  from 2 to 4. 
     
     
         5 . The artificial turf according to  claim 1 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits an elongation at break of at least 65%. 
     
     
         6 . The artificial turf according to  claim 1 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits a stability of 0.9 cN/dtex. 
     
     
         7 . A method of preparing an artificial turf comprising:
 selecting an ethylene-based polymer composition comprising:
 less than or equal to 100 percent by weight of the units derived from ethylene; and 
 less than 30 percent by weight of units derived from one or more α-olefin comonomers; 
   wherein said ethylene-based polymer composition is characterized by having a Comonomer Distribution Constant of equal to or greater than 40, a vinyl unsaturation of less than 100 vinyls per one million carbon atoms present in the backbone of the ethylene-based polymer composition; a zero shear viscosity ratio (ZSVR) equal to or greater than 1.75; a density in the range of 0.915 to 0.930 g/cm 3 , a melt index (I 2 ) in the range of from 0.8 to 5 g/10 minutes, a molecular weight distribution (M w /M n ) in the range of from 2 to 3.6, and a molecular weight distribution (M z /M w ) equal to or less than 3; and   preparing a turf yarn from the ethylene-based polymer composition.   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits one or more of the following properties (a) shrink of less than 4.8%, and (b) curl of less than 0.5. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits a shrink of less than 4.5%. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits a curl of less than 0.4. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the ethylene-based polymer composition has an I 2  from 2 to 4. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits an elongation at break of at least 65%. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the turf yarn exhibits a stability of 0.9 cN/dtex.