Degradation Studies of Polyolefins Incorporating Transparent Nanoparticulate Zinc Oxide UV Stabilizers

Coated and dispersed nanoparticulate zinc oxide is shown to improve ultra violet (UV) stability of polypropylene and high-density polyethylene without changing its characteristic absorption spectrum in the visible region (400–800-nm). The performance of these nanoparticulate UV stabilizers is compared to conventional hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS). QUV accelerated weathering is used to simulate long-term exposure. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is used to provide an indication of physical and chemical changes due to accelerated weathering and is shown to have potential for detecting changes well before other techniques. Visual observation, optical microscopy, carbonyl index, yellowness index and PALS indicate that nanoparticulate zinc oxide gives superior resistance to UV degradation compared to organic HALS at appropriate loading levels.