| Abstract: | Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) plasticized with a phthalate ester was photodegraded with both farultraviolet (λ mainly 254 nm) and near-ultraviolet (λ > 280nm) light. Multiple changes in the infrared spectra of the films were thus induced. The PVC underwent oxidation, dehydrochlorination, and simultaneous chain scission and crosslinking. Some of the phthalate ester was split along the aliphatic side chains, leading to lower-molecular-weight analogs, while a further fraction became firmly bound to the crosslinked part of the PVC. Reaction sequences to account for this complicated series of changes are suggested. |
