Study of ultraviolet photooxidative degradation of LDPE film containing cerium carboxylate photosensitizer

Abstract

The carbonyl indices (CI) of photooxidation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films containing cerium carboxylate (CeCar3) with/without aromatic ketones (AK) were determined by infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The effects of these photosensitizers on the rates of ultraviolet (UV) photooxidation of LDPE films and their mechanism in sensitizing photooxidative degradation are studied. Results show that CeCar3 can cause the accelerated photooxidative degradation of LDPE films, but CeCar3 in combination with AK may bring about the accelerated or retarded photooxidative degradation of LDPE films to varying degrees. After UV irradiation, followed by long duration storage, LDPE films containing these photosensitizers continued storage oxidative degradation at the storage oxidative rates similar to the past, except for the Michler ketone.