Oxyluminescence of polymers. II. Effect of temperature and antioxidants

The oxyluminescence of polypropylene and polyethylene stabilized with various amounts of 4,4′-thiobis(3-methyl-6-tert-butylphenol) were studied and compared with oxygen uptake data. It was found that there was a correlation, although not linear, between the two methods. In the case of the stabilized polypropylenes, a pronounced aging effect was noticed. The oxyluminescent behavior of stabilized polyethylene was somewhat different from that of stabilized polypropylene. The temperature coefficients of the oxyluminescence of polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon 6, polystyrene, polyurethane and polymethyl methacrylate were obtained. From these data the apparent activation energies for the light-emitting reaction were calculated. For the olefin polymers, these values are close to the activation energies of the oxidative degradation reaction obtained by other means. Both polyethylene and polymethyl methacrylate have different activation energies below their transition points as compared to higher temperature, indicating a different mode of reaction in the solid state from that occurring in the melt. An interesting transition luminescence, which was more pronounced in the absence of oxygen, was observed in the case of polyethylene.