The effect of UV irradiation on melting and crystallization behavior of poly(1-butene)

Abstract

The work directs attention towards the influence of natural weathering and accelerated UV degradation on thermal behavior and subsequent transformation behavior of isotactic poly(1-butene) (PB-1). For these purposes, two different commercial-available grades of PB-1 were chosen. Specimens prepared by compression molding were UV irradiated for 0 to 40 hours and naturally weathered up to 63 days. Significant changes were consequently observed in crystallization and melting behavior as well as in the phase transformation mechanism.