UV stabilizers, such as Tinuvin 1577, are organic additives that are used in the polymer industry to suppress polymer photodegradation, however leaching of the stabilizers from polymers is a significant practical issue which limits the effectiveness of the stabilizers and restricts polymer lifetimes. Novel, polymerizable UV stabilizers were synthesised and copolymerized with bis(2-hydroxyethyl) isophthalate to yield poly(ethylene isophthalate) copolymers where the UV stabilizers are bound covalently into the polymer chains. This strategy prevents leaching of stabilizers from polymers over time, and is expected to lead to enhanced UV protection of polymers compared to the admixing of polymers with UV stabilizers of low molar mass.
Polymerizable UV absorbing monomers (UVAMs) were copolymerized with bis(hydroxyethyl) terephthalate to yield copolymers of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). PET copolymer films containing 3-[4-(4,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-3-hydroxyphenoxy]-1,2-propanediol (UVAM 12) and 6,6'-(6-phenyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4diyl)bis(3-(2-hydroxyethoxy)phenol) (UVAM 24) were exposed to UV radiation for 1082 hrs. in a QUV-A accelerated weathering instrument and analyzed periodically using FT-IR spectroscopy and GPC. It was found that PET films containing copolymerized UVAMs outperformed films containing admixed Tinuvin 1577 stabilizer, thereby offering even greater protection to polymer films against UV-induced crosslinking and chain scission.
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