Heterogeneous polymer degradation examples

The knowledge of conditions under which polymers degrade is essential to avoid and retard corrosion. Chemical properties of macromolecules are essentially those of small molecules only the reactivity is lower and the reaction conditions may be different. For example, polymer degradation caused by corrosive chemicals occurs in heterogeneous systems, since chemicals have to diffuse inside polymer matrices and the rate of diffusion of adverse chemicals depends on the chemical structure of polymers and on conditions such as temperature, humidity, etc. 

When it is necessary to characterize the heterogeneity of a polymer film or a composite film both along and across the surface, FTIR microscopy is used [724, 725] (see also Section 4.3). For example, the degradation of an acrylic polymer automotive coating that had been subjected to Florida sun for 3 years was studies with a FTIR microscope using synchrotron radiation [726],... 

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