No abstract

To enhance the photodegradability of polypropylene (PP), various carboxylates of iron, including ferric caprate (MF03), ferric laurate (MF04), ferric myristate (MF05), ferric palmitate (MF06), and ferric stearate (MF07), were synthesized. Virgin PP was blended with the synthesized prodegradants (0.2%) and blown into films. To study the photodegradation behavior of PP with and without the prodegradants under natural weathering conditions, all of the films were exposed to sunlight according to the procedure of ASTM 1435. All of the weathered films were found to degrade after a certain number of days of exposure; this was found from the steep increases in the carbonyl, hydroperoxide, hydroxyl, lactone, ester, carboxylic acid, and crystallinity indices. At the same time, a sudden decrease in the elongation at break percentages and tensile strength and surface cracks were also observed. PP containing the prodegradants degraded at a faster rate than the virgin material. The time taken for the material to lose half of the elongation at break value was taken as the halftime, and this was used to determine the effectiveness of the prodegradants. The effectiveness of the prodegradants for the photodegradation of PP was found to be in the following order: MF03 > MF04 > MF05 > MF06 > MF07. With increasing alkyl chain length of the prodegradants, the stability of the alkyl radical increased, whereas the mobility of the radical in the PP matrix decreased.

ABSTRACT:The various iron carboxylates such as ferric caprate, ferric laurate, ferric myristate, ferric palmitate, and ferric stearate were synthesized to enhance the photodegradability of polypropylene (PP). The prodegradants (0.2%) synthesized were blended with virgin PP and then blown into films. All the PP films mentioned were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation of 365 nm at room temperature to study the photodegradation behavior of PP with and without the prodegradants under artificial weathering conditions. The photoirradiated films were found to degrade after certain hours of UV exposure, which could be found from the steep increase of hydroxyl, carbonyl, lactone, ester, carboxylic acid, and crystallinity index. At the same time, a sudden decrease of elongation at break percentages and tensile strength; development of surface cracks indicated the scission of the main chain of the PP. The results revealed that PP containing prodegradants degraded at a faster rate than the virgin material. However, the effectiveness of the prodegradants for the photodegradation of PP was found to be in the order: ferric caprate > ferric laurate > ferric myristate > ferric palmitate > ferric stearate. The results showed that the number of carbon atoms present in the alkyl part of the various prodegradants played a vital role in the degradation phenomenon. Furthermore, it could be concluded that the mobility of the alkyl radicals formed from the decomposition of the incorporated prodegradants during artificial weathering played a prominent role in the photooxidative degradation behavior of PP films.