Abstract
Thermooxidative degradation at and beyond processing temperatures of a polyoxymethylene copolymer has been progressively accelerated to carbonisation through oven-storage aging. The quantification of such degradation was carried out through FTIR spectrography and colour spectrophotometry methods. The state of thermo-oxidation was monitored through the FTIR spectra corresponding to the carbonyl aldehyde group (O=CH) and methylene bending (–CH2), as well as the chromaticity changes experienced on the sample surface. The results showed that the FTIR bands suggested are a reliable indicator during the initial conditions of degradation, however, the spectrophotometry becomes more appropriate method for more aggressive conditions leading to carbonisation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors, in general, would like to acknowledge the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia of the Spanish Government for the financial support given through the project PSE-020400-2006-1. In addition Mr. Vilà is particularly grateful for the support received from Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya and Centre Català del Plastic.