Open Access

ARTICLE

Study on the Weathering Performance of Polypropylene by Artificial Accelerated Aging and Natural Aging

MINGYU HE¹, AMATJAN SAWUT¹, LI GUAN², YING LI¹, MAMATJAN YIMIT²

1 Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Fine Chemicals, Ministry of Education and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, College of Chemical Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830046, China.
2 Research Institute of Dushanzi Petrochemical Company, Dushanzi, 833600, China.

* Corresponding Author: e-mail:

Journal of Polymer Materials 2021, 38(3-4), 191-203. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2021.38.3-4.2

Abstract

The weathering performance of polypropylene (PP) was studied in an artificial accelerated weathering chamber of 340 nm ultraviolet light and natural conditions in Turpan, China. This work aimed to provide a method for calculating the aging failure of PP under natural conditions by the means of artificial accelerated aging. SEM showed that large crack widths of approximately 1.25 µm and 1.63 µm appealed on the PP surface after 15 days artificial accelerated aging and 150 days natural aging, respectively. XPS data revealed that the number of C-O and C=O bonds on the PP surface were generally the same after artificial accelerated aging and natural aging of PP for 3 and 30 days, 6 and 60 days, or 9 and 90 days, respectively. Moreover, the data of mechanical properties and capillary rheology also exhibited similar results. It was concluded that the aging rate of artificial accelerated aging was 10 times faster than that of natural aging in Turpan.

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Keywords

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