Photodegradation of poly(vinyl esters)—III. Photolysis mechanism for both polymeric and low molecular mass esters

Acid, aldehyde and carbon dioxide were the major products of the vacuum photodegradations of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC), poly(vinyl propanoate) (PVPR) and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVAC). Aldehydes have not previously been reported as formed from the acid portions of esters undergoing photolysis. The generality of aldehyde formation has been demonstrated by the detection of the respective aldehydes in the liquid-phase photolysis of butane-1,3-diol diacetate (BDAC) and butane-1,3-diol dipropanoate (BDPR) in this study, which is the first to report the quantum yields for acid and aldehyde formation in low molecular mass esters. Two mechanisms, one involving hydrogen abstraction by the acyl radical formed in a Norrish Type I cleavage process and the other involving an intramolecular hydrogen abstraction by an excited carbonyl group followed by fragmentation, have been proposed to account for aldehyde formation. The absence of propanal from the product distribution in the photo-oxidation of PVPR could be explained by both mechanisms.