A fluorimetric study of the chemical,photochemical and thermal degradation of poly(vinylchloride)—I. Preliminary comparative studies

Fluorescence emission and excitation spectra of dilute tetrahydrofuran solutions of thermally degraded PVC, (TPVC), photochemically degraded PVC, (PPVC), chemically degraded PVC, (CPVC) and non-degraded PVC are compared. The spectra of CPVC and PPVC are similar and are composed of a mixture of polyene structures while those of TPVC are different. The reasons for these differences are discussed.