Photo-stabilising action of metal chelate stabilisers in polypropylene—Part VI: Importance of singlet ( 1Δg) oxygen quenching and UV screening, and flash photolysis studies

Abstract

The importance of singlet ( 1 Δ g ) oxygen quenching in the stabilisation mechanism of polypropylene by metal chelates has been investigated. Methylene blue was used as the sensitiser and 9,10-dimethyl anthracene was used as a singlet oxygen chemical trap. The results show that singlet oxygen quenching has no important rôle in the stabilising mechanism of metal chelates, in a polypropylene matrix. The importance of ultraviolet screening by the chelates as a stabilising mechanism is also considered. Various concentration levels, ranging from 0·001% to 1·0% w/w, were used. The results show that, as in the case of singlet oxygen quenching, ultraviolet screening is unimportant as an effective photo-stabilising mechanism. The photo-stability of four nickel chelates in both polar and non-polar solvents has been examined using conventional flash photolysis. It is found that their activity correlates with their ability to protect the polymer at concentrations below 0·2% w/w. The radicals formed during flash photolysis are tentatively assigned to be phenoxy radicals.