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Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.51, No.3, 389-397, 1994
Photooxidation and Thermal-Oxidation of the Nonwoven Polypropylene Fabric Studied by FT-Ir Photoacoustic-Spectroscopy
The photo- and thermal-oxidation of a nonwoven polypropylene fabric was investigated using Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FT-IR/PAS). The infrared spectroscopic data indicate that alcohol, peroxide, aldehyde, ketone, carboxylic acid, and anhydride were formed as the products of the thermal oxidation and photooxidation of the polypropylene fabric. Ester was also formed during the thermal oxidation process. The thermal oxidation was accelerated after an initiation period. It was found that thermal oxidation occurred homogeneously between the surfaces of the fabric and its bulk. For the polypropylene fabric irradiated by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, however, the highest degree of oxidation occurred in the surface of the fabric facing the UV radiation source. It was also found that the UV radiation at 254 nm caused photooxidation of polypropylene. No photooxidation was observed in the fabric exposed to the UV radiation at 350 nm under the same conditions.