Techniques and Mechanisms of Polymer Degradation

The lifetime of a polymer is dependent not only on the weak links in the material but also on its surroundings. Degradation must be carefully monitored in order to evaluate the usefulness and service-life of polymers in different applications. As environmental concerns have increased, new demands are placed on the prediction of long-term properties of synthetic and natural polymers. When polymeric materials are exposed to a complex environment (e.g. outdoors) we may describe this as environmental degradation. Environmental degradation occurs due to a combination of factors of which photo-oxidation, thermo-oxidation, humidity, erosion by the weather and chemical action due to pollutants and micro-and macro-organisms are the most important. A combination of these may be cumulative, synergistic or antagonistic.