Effects of Pigment on the UV Degradation of an Epoxy System

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a powerful tool for monitoring the changes in the surface chemistry of many materials. In this study it was used to examine the chemical changes in an epoxy system formulated with and without pigment (TiO2) in an effort to gain an understanding the role that pigment plays in polymer photodegradation. Epoxy degradation as a function of surface treatment on the pigment and pigment concentration was also investigated.Epoxy and pigment will be analyzed separately in an effort to understand the changes observed for the entire system (pigmented epoxy). Preliminary XPS results show that chemical changes have occurred on the epoxy surface and that the type of pigment affects the extent of
degradation. The concentration of pigment appears to have no effect on the extent of
degradation.
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