Abstract: Methods for determining the molecular weight and distribution of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (PE-UHMW) were introduced in this paper, including intrinsic viscosity, rheology, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Viscosity method was the most widely used one, in which Ubbelohde viscometer was used. Since PE-UHMW possessed a very long relaxation time, rheological method was tedious. The GPC method had to be carried out at high temperatures and thus was subjected to some limitations.

Key words: ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, molecular weight, viscosity, rheology, gel permeation chromatography, molecular weight distribution