An Investigation into the UV-Photo-Oxidative Degradation of LDPE by Using Cobalt Naphthenate as Photosensitizer

Abstract

The effect of cobalt naphthenate on photo degradation of low density polyethylene was studied. The carbonyl index, tensile strength, elongation at break, density and relative crystallinity of the samples were measured. The samples were made of different concentrations of LDPE and cobalt naphthenate. Parts of uniform thickness were cut for testing before and after UV-irradiation at every 30-days interval for 90 days. From the results of FTIR, and other measurements, it was observed that the UV-irradiation affects on the LDPE films and the rate of degradation increased with increasing both the concentration of the photosensitizer and time of irradiation.

Keywords:

• Cobalt naphthenate
• LDPE
• Photo-oxidative degradation
• UV degradation

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Iran polymer and petrochemical institute for funding this project.