Screening the weathering stability of automotive coatings by chemiluminescence

Abstract

Chemiluminescence (CL) is a sensitive method of investigating the thermo-oxidative stability of polymers in the early stages of degradation. Therefore, CL measurements were applied to different automotive coatings to evaluate their degradation behavior during artificial weathering. In this work, CL measurements were carried out for different automotive coatings to follow their degradation behavior during artificial weathering. The CL emission depends on sample-specific parameters like stabilizer, matrix, or hardener; experimental parameters like the oxygen partial pressure; and exposure parameters like the duration of weathering. The potential of CL could be demonstrated by classifying materials into categories of good, medium, and low degradation performance at a much earlier stage of weathering exposure than in combination with the usual visual detection of weathering effects.