Abstract
An investigation has been conducted into the effects of photodegradation on the structure of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). Films, with and without ultraviolet absorbers and prepared by biaxial orientation after extrusion, have been exposed in the laboratory for periods of up to 1020 hours. The samples were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction and size exclusion chromatography. The appearance of a cold crystallization peak during DSC heating scans was noted for exposed samples and this was considered to be a result of released molecules in the amorphous region that could rearrange into a crystalline phase. From X-ray analysis, a loss of crystalline orientation was observed after degradation and an interpretation was given based on relaxation in the mesophase region. In samples containing the photostabilizer additive the magnitude of changes in structure was lower, possibly due to segregation effects during film production making the non-crystalline region relatively immune to degradation effects.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
G. E. Schoolenberg and H. D. F. Meijer, Polymer 32 (1991) 438.
J. R. White and A. Turnbull, J. Mater. Sci. 29 (1994) 584.
M. S. Rabello and J. R. White, Plast. Rubb. Compos. Proc. Appl. 25 (1996) 237.
M. S. Rabello and J. R. White Polymer 38 (1997) 6379.
F. Khabbaz, A. C. Albertsson and S. Karlsson, Polym. Degrad. Stab. 63 (1999) 127.
N. Chatterjee, S. Basu, S. K. Pelit and M. M. Maiti, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Phys. Edn. 33 (1995) 1705.
N. S. Allen, M. Edge, T. Corrales, M. Shah, D. Holdsworth, F. Catalina, C. Peinado and E. P. Collar, Polymer 37 (1996) 2323.
W. K. Busfield and J. H. O'donnell, Eur. Polym. J. 15 (1979) 197.
Y. Zhao, Y. Luo and B. Jiang, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 50 (1993) 1797.
D. Kostoski and Z. Stojanovic, Polym. Degrad. Stab. 47 (1995) 353.
A. Shinde and R. Salovey, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Phys. Edn. 23 (1985) 1681.
B. Terselius, U. W. Gedde and J. F. Jansson, Polym. Eng. Sci. 22 (1982) 422.
G. Ungar and A. Keller, Polymer 21 (1980) 1273.
D. Kostoski, Z. Stojanovic, O. Gal and V. Stannett, Radiat. Phys. Chem. 32 (1988) 667.
G. Papet, J. Audouin and J. Verdu, Radiat. Phys. Chem. 29 (1987) 65.
M. S. Rabello and J. R. White, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 64 (1997) 2505.
R. Mani, R. P. Singh, S. Sivaram and J. Lacoste, Polym. J. 26 (1994) 1132.
A. C. Albertsson, C. Barenstedt and S. Karlsson, Polym. Degrad. Stab. 37 (1992) 163.
J. H. Khan and S. H. Hamid, ibid. 48 (1995) 137.
G. A. George and M. S. O'shea, ibid. 28 (1990) 289.
W. K. Fisher and J. C. Corelli, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Chem. Edn. 19 (1981) 2465.
N. S. Allen, M. Edge and M. Mohammadian, Polym. Degrad. Stab. 43 (1994) 229.
A. Ballara and J. Verdu, ibid. 26 (1989) 361.
N. S. Allen, M. Edge, M. Mohammadian and K. Jones, Eur. Polym. J. 27 (1991) 1373.
X. Lu and J. N. Hay, Polymer 41 (2000) 7427.
J. C. Canadas, J. A. Diego, M. Mudarra and J. Belana, ibid. 39 (1998) 2795.
G. J. M. Fechine, M. S. Rabello and J. R. M. D'almeida, Aguas de Lindoia (SP), 1999.
G. J. M. Fechine, M. S. Rabello and R. M. Souto-maior, Polym. Degrad. Stab. 75 (2002) 153.
B. O'donnell and J. R. White, ibid. 44 (1994) 211.
Z. Pingping and M. Dezhu, Eur. Polym. J. 33 (1997) 1817.
B. Wunderlich, in “Macromolecular Physics. Vol. 1: Crystal Structure, Morphology, Defects” (Academic Press, New York, 1976).
M. S. Rabello and J. R. White, Polymer 38 (1997) 6389.
F. Zoepfl, V. Markovic and J. Silverman, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Chem. Edn. 22 (1984) 2017.
M. S. Rabello and J. R. White, Polym. Degrad. Stab. 56 (1997) 55.
X. Lu and J. N. Hay, Polymer 42 (2001) 9423.
M. S. Rabello, PhD,University of Newcastle uponTyne, 1996.
N. N. Blinov, A. A. Popov, S. Rakovski, A. Stoyanov, D. Shopov and G. E. Zaikov, Polym. Sci. USSR (Engl. Transl.) 31 (1989) 2434.
A. Ajji, J. Guevremont, K. C. Cole and M. M. Dumoulin, Polymer 37 (1996) 3707.
L. E. Alexander, in “X-Ray Diffraction Methods in Polymer Science” (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1969).
M. Fujiyama, T. Wakino and Y. Kawasaki, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 35 (1988) 29.
R. G. Matthews, A. Ajji, M. M. Dumoulin and R. E. Prudhomme, Polymer 41 (2000) 7139.
J. Knight, P. Calvert and N. C. Billingham, ibid. 26 (1985) 1713.
H. D. Keith and F. J. Padden, J. Appl. Phys. 35 (1964) 1270.
N. S. Allen, Eng. Plast. 8 (1995) 247.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fechine, G.J.M., Souto-Maior, R.M. & Rabello, M.S. Structural changes during photodegradation of poly(ethylene terephthalate). Journal of Materials Science 37, 4979–4984 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021067027612
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021067027612