July 2024
Intermediate to advanced
280 pages
12h 52m
English
Photodegradable polymers (plastics) are polymers whose disintegration is initiated by sunlight.
There are two types of photodegradable polymers. The first type is made by adding so-called prodegradant additives to conventional polymers such as polyethylene. These additives are usually based on transition metals of cobalt (Co), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), or nickel (Ni). They can promote free-radical attack on the polymer under light and thus initiate the degradation.
The other type is the polymers containing built-in photocleavable units. Some typical photolabile chromophores used to construct photodegradable polymers are as follows:
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