ISSN:
0021-8995
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
Notes:
The deterioration of polyolefin, poly(ethylene terephthalate), and polyamide films under soil burial conditions extending up to 32 months has been investigated. Based on changes in their elongation at break, the films can be ranked in order of increasing sensitivity to degradation: Polyester ≃ polypropylene 〈 low-density polyethylene ≃ high-density polyethylene 〈 nylon 6.6. The degraded nylon 6.6 and polyethylene films were characterized by infrared and luminescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, as well as by wet analysis for hydroperoxides. From a comparison with the well-known oxidative sensitivity of nylon 6.6 in oxygenated water at slightly elevated temperatures, the rapid deterioration of nylon 6.6 film during soil burial was also concluded to be an oxidative process. The somewhat smaller, but significant, embrittlement of the polyethylenes studied could not be simply explained by thermal oxidation (with only trace oxidation products detectable) or microbiological attack (deterioration being unaffected by surface activation to enhance wettability).
Additional Material:
5 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.1981.070260211
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