Determination of spatial distribution of oxidation products in ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene by staining with sulphur dioxide or hydrochloric acid

Treating a sample of oxidised ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) with SO₂ will cause a reaction between SO₂ and hydroperoxides in the sample, forming a hydrosulphate group. During subsequent heat treatment the hydrosulphate group will leave as sulphuric acid, and a double bond will form in the polymer chain. During this step the sample turns brown. This browning has previously been used to determine the spatial distribution of oxidation in PP. The aim of this work was to apply this also to UHMWPE and to determine what causes the browning and how well it corresponds to the true distribution and concentration of hydroperoxides. The possible future use of the technique to determine the spatial distribution of oxidation in UHMWPE has also been evaluated.The true nature of the browning has been difficult to establish, but it seems to originate from a charge transfer complex between the double bonds and the sulphuric acid. A similar type of coloration develops in oxidised UHMWPE, when it is treated with hot hydrochloric acid. However, in that case the coloration is proportional to the carbonyl concentration and has been concluded to originate from the oxonium ion formed by protonation of ketones. The coloration of both SO₂/heat-treated samples and samples treated with hot hydrochloric acid can be used to give a qualitative picture of the spatial distribution of oxidation in UHMWPE. The techniques have been applied to study the heterogeneous oxidation in badly consolidated UHMWPE. It was found that the very good spatial resolution gave information about the heterogeneous oxidation that is not possible to obtain when using other techniques, such as FTIR mapping and imaging chemiluminescence.