The mechanism for inorganic fillers accelerating and inhibiting the UV irradiation aging behaviors of rigid poly(vinyl chloride)

Abstract

AbstractThe UV irradiation aging behaviors of PVC composites with several inorganic fillers were studied through Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV‐Vis), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mechanical property test. It was found that incorporation of a small amount of the inorganic fillers such as CaCO3, talc and SiO2 could hold up the UV aging behaviors of PVC. Those filler‐filled PVC composites sheets after 20 days UV irradiation maintain lower carbonyl index (CI) and good appearance of surfaces, as compared with the corresponding neat PVC sheets, ascribed to high reflection of those fillers to UV light. While montmorillonite (MMT) and pyrophyllite fillers could accelerate the UV aging behaviors of PVC, which could be concluded from both the sharp increase of the CI and lower Tg due to the chain scission reactions because of their high absorbance of these fillers to UV light in 290–400 nm. In these two PVC composites, UV irradiation caused the deterioration of their mechanical properties and the appearance of rough, cracked and chalked surfaces after 20 days UV irradiation. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011