Influence of UV radiation on chemical structure and thermal properties of PE and PE/HNT

This paper deals with the degradation of two type of polyethylene (PE) and composites (PE/HNT) which composed of the specific type of polyethylene as a matrix and of the halloysite nanotubes as an innovative clay filler. Attention is paid specifically to the degradation of tested materials in the oxidation atmosphere under ultraviolet (UV) radiation with defined emission spectrum. The laboratory experiment of material degradation based on significant photo-oxidation processes is carried out. This experiment simulates a significantly accelerated degradation of the materials, which is exposed to sunlight, to some degree. The evaluation of changes in the chemical structure of tested materials is performed via infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform. Subsequently, thermal analyses are used to determine the influence of the UV radiation exposure on the thermo-oxidative stability (thermal properties) of tested materials. The main aim is to verify the influence of the presence of clay filler on the photo-oxidation of polyethylene