UV-Irradiated Biodegradability of Ethylene−Propylene Copolymers, LDPE, and I-PP in Composting and Culture Environments

作者：Jitendra Kumar Pandey, Ravi Prakash Singh · 发表于：Biomacromolecules · 年份：2001 · DOI：10.1021/bm010047s · 被引用次数：80 · 研究领域：Microplastics and Plastic Pollution、Recycling and Waste Management Techniques、biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties

The biodegradability of UV-irradiated films of ethylene--propylene copolymers (E--P copolymer), isotactic polypropylene (i-PP), and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), was measured in composting and culture environments by monitoring the variations in intrinsic viscosity [eta], weight loss per surface area, surface changes by SEM, colonization of fungus, chain scission, and evolution of hydroxyl and carbonyl groups by FT-IR spectroscopy. Photooxidation was used as a pretreatment for biodegradation of polymers. A systematic decrease in intrinsic viscosity [eta] and increase in carbonyl/hydroxyl regions in FT-IR spectra was found from 0 to 100-h irradiated samples. The degradation rate was strongly dependent on the composition of copolymers and markedly increased with decrease in ethylene content. Important surface erosion was detected after composting by SEM for longer UV-irradiated samples. It was estimated that chain-scission was directly related to photoirradiation.