Factors Affecting Polymer Degradation

T. Moussa and C. Tiu. Factors affecting polymer degradation in turbulent pipe flow. Chem Eng Sci, 49(10) 1681-1692, May 1994. 

T.R. Hull, A.A. Stec, K. Lebek, and D. Price, Factors affecting the combustion toxicity of polymeric materials, Polymer Degradation and Stability, 92, 2239-2246, 2007. 

The environment is an important factor affecting the rate and degree of biodegradation of polymer substrates. The other key aspects determining biodegradability are related to the chemical composition of the polymer. The polymer chemistry governs the chemical and physical properties of the material and its interaction with the physical environment, which in turn affects the material s compostability with particular degradation mechanisms. 

In principle, many factors affect the rate of degradation of PHAs. They include the properties of the polymers, such as the molecular composition, the resulting intermo-lecular interactions, hydrophilic and hydrophobic behavior, the structural parameters, like degree of crystallinity, level of orientation, surface structure, and molecular weight. Concerning biopolymers, the related factors are the growth of microorganisms, especially the pH-value, temperature, aerobic or anaerobic conditions etc. 

The intrinsic degradation of doped conjugated polymers would be affected by two major factors, the reactivity of the dopant and the reactivity of the polymer backbone. The polyacetylene backbone is comparatively very reactive due to its sufficiently low ionization potential of 4.7 eV [24], so the reactivity of the dopant may be the dominant reaction rate deciding factor in polyacetylene. 

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