Effect of hindered piperidine light stabilizer molecular structure and UV‐absorber addition on the oxidation of HDPE. Part 1: Long‐term thermal and photo‐oxidation studies

Abstract This series of papers explores the effect of structural characteristics of 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine‐based hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) on the long‐term (40 months) thermal (110°C in air) and photo‐stabilization (Microscal unit wavelength >300 nm) performance characteristics of high‐density polyethylene formulations. Possible synergism with a triazine functional UV absorber is also explored. Under thermal degradation (measured by carbonyl index) the polymeric HALS performed best, mainly because of reduced volatilization. Additionally, >N‐methyl HALS generally showed superior performance under thermal degradation. There was no synergism between an N‐CH 3 polymeric HALS and the UV1164 triazine additive. However, the equivalent N‐H polymeric HALS interacted in a complex manner with UV1164, giving synergism and antagonism, depending on HALS/UV1164 ratio. Strong synergism was evident with the monomeric HALS when the total stabilizer level was 0.2% w/w. Reduction in the overall stabilizer level to 0.05% w/w eliminated the synergism. The UV1164 alone led to rapid and intense yellowing; however, the rate and intensity of yellowing reduced dramatically upon combination with HALS, particularly when the UV1164 level was above 0.1% w/w. When the formulation was under UV attack, the molar mass and the type of N‐substitution had no influence on stabilization performance because of the relatively low temperature of testing (leading to reduced volatilization), and the similarly effective UV‐stabilization routes for N‐methyl HALS and N‐H HALS. Under UV attack, yellowing reached a maximum and then decreased to approximately the initial level, while HALS/UV1164 combinations generally showed weak antagonism. J. Vinyl Addit. Technol. 10:79–87, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.