Outdoor and accelerated weathering tests for polypropylene and polypropylene/talc composites: A comparative study of their weathering behavior

In this study, the comparisons of degradation behavior of polypropylene(PP) and PP/talc composites were carried out with one outdoor weathering test and three accelerated weathering (xenon, metal halide and carbon arc lamps) tests, respectively. The outdoor exposure vigorously advanced these degradations with the lowest amount of UV exposure energy. It was found that the degradation rates were affected by the visible light intensity in the light sources. In the case of the existence of talc compound, the degradation was synergistically accelerated by the exposures of the sunshine, the xenon and the metal halide lamps having higher visible light intensities. In addition, the degradations of the PP and the PP/talc composites were found to be synergistically accelerated by sunlight exposure and the acid rain, too. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.