Interior Design and Performance

A major role of the chemist in interior design is to utilize coatings and stabilizers to improve the appearance and life of the product and protect the part from physical and chemical stress. The automobile industry is setting higher standards to fulfill the stabilization requirements for vehicle interior coatings. Some of the materials utilized in interior applications were listed in Chapter 3. 

Poly (vinyl acetate) Polycarbonate Polymethyl methacrylate Polyoxymethylene Cellulose acetate butyrate 

Source Hawkins, W. L. Polymer Degradiation and Stabilization, Springer-Verlag, 1984. With permission. 

Ultraviolet absorbers are the most widely utilized of the photostabilizers. Most common UV absorbers are low molecular weight derivatives of o-hydroxybenzophe-none, o -hydroxybenzotriazole, or o-hydroxyphenyl salicylate [3], Most polymers are sensitive to UV radiation between 300 and 360 nm. They absorb UV radiation through their structure structural irregularities or impurities also have an effect [3], Table 4.1 shows some activation spectra for some typical polymers [3], Individual polymers absorb UV radiation within specific wave length regions, exhibiting activation spectra maxima at the wavelength where each is most vulnerable to photo-oxidation [4], 

According to Hawkins, the effectiveness of UV absorbers is severely reduced or eliminated by the following alterations in the molecular structure [3]  

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