UV-laser-assisted degradation of poly(methyl methacrylate)

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) has been irradiated by UV-laser light with different wavelengths (193 nm, 248 nm and 308 nm) in order to investigate the photolytic degradation of the physical-chemical molecular structure. The photoinduced chemical reactions at the polymer surface have been investigated by QMS, XPS, FTIR and NMR in order to clarify the degradation mechanism. It was also shown that in the UV-illuminated area a modification of the refractive index can be achieved which strongly depends on the irradiation conditions.