Effect of oven aging on polypropylene

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Abstract
Injection‐molded tensile bars of unstabilized polypropylene were oven aged at 90°C. After an induction period, tensile elongation decreased catastrophically. During the induction period no evidence of oxidation was observed by infrared reflectance; however, a definite surface etching was noted by electron microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements indicated that, for samples aged beyond the induction time, oxidative degradation caused a decrease in the melting temperature of polypropylene. Toluene immersion was used to remove selectively material from the surface of tensile bars aged for various times. Using this technique, changes in melting behavior were observed for partially aged polypropylene even prior to the catastrophic decrease in tensile elongation. Similarly, oxidation products and a reduction in molecular weight were detected for the dissolved surface layer during the apparent induction time. Results indicate that molecular weight measurement is the most sensitive indicator of oxidative degradation during the induction period.