Abstract
A research study on the changes effected in the surface of poly(ethylene terephthalate) film by ultraviolet photooxidation and the rate at which the changes occur is presented and the results are compared with those from electrical discharge oxidation. The oxidized polymer was aged for as many as three weeks or washed with water before examination by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact-angle measurements. It was found that photooxidation occurred uniformly throughout the outermost 50 angstroms of the film. Carboxyl (acid) and alcohol/phenol were the main groups formed. Low-molecular-weight products, formed by chain scission and oxidation, were removed by washing and diffused into the bulk when aged. Oxidized products in higher-molecular-weight chains were not removed by washing, but diffused into the polymer bulk or reoriented because of their chain mobility. Extended photooxidation produced a stable oxidized surface more resistant to ageing changes than oxidation by electrical discharge.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | [No source information available] |
| State | Published - 1984 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Materials Science