Effect of iron carboxylates on the photodegradability of polypropylene. II. Artificial weathering studies

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. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012