Photodegradation of polypropylene/polystyrene blends: Styrene-butadiene-styrene compatibilisation effect

The mutual influence between the PP/PS polymer blend components during UV photodegradation was studied. Polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) have different photodegradation mechanisms, due to the larger UV absorption of polystyrene and formation of more stable tertiary carbon radicals. To compare the stabilities the kinetics of carbonyl formation was measured in different blend compositions. The results show that polystyrene presented a faster carbonyl formation than polypropylene, while the blends display faster kinetics than the isolated components. The kinetics of carbonyl formation of the blends was a function of polypropylene content. This result is unexpected if one considers the behaviour of each component alone. The kinetics and mechanism of UV degradation can be only explained taking into account the interaction between the blend components. PS absorbs UV light and energy is transferred to PP, which produces more reactive tertiary carbon free radicals. The effect of the interaction between the domains is enhanced when a compatibiliser is used, corroborating the hypothesis of energy transfer.