Monomer migration and degradation of polycarbonate via UV-C irradiation within aquatic and atmospheric environments

Polycarbonates (PC) are widely used in daily life as commodity plastics and it is a critical material regarding to the public health for the consequences that may arise especially for infants due to usage in baby bottles. Therefore, understanding the behavior of PC within the degradative environment is vital. In this study, degradation of polycarbonate via UV-C irradiation was studied within atmospheric and aquatic environments. Mechanical, morphological, thermal tests NMR, TGA, SEM, DSC, Extensometer, Yellowness Index, FTIR and HPLC tests of samples irradiated with different irradiation periods within these two environments were carried out. The analysis results have shown that for both of aquatic and atmospheric environments, the degradation and morphological changes were occurred. Structure tests results show that the main degradation occurred on the carbonate group of PC. In addition, significant amount of Bisphenol A was detected via HPLC analysis in the aquatic solution after irradiation in aquatic environment that could be hazardous for the public health.