Influence of polymer polarity on photochromic behavior of naphthodipyran doped in different polymeric matrixes

Abstract Photochromic polymer films were prepared by doping the naphthodipyran into different polymers such as Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), styrene‐butadiene‐styrene (SBS) triblock copolymer, and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) at different concentrations. The kinetics of the photochromism/decoloration in the thin films was quantified by fitting biexponential equations to their photochromic decay curves after UV irradiation. The results show that the fastest decoloration process was in SBS, and the slowest one was in PVP. The DSC results indicate that T g of polymeric matrix has no obvious effect on the decoloration rate of naphthodipyran. The decreasing order of the decoloration constant of naphthodipyran was consistent with increasing polarity of polymer matrixes as PVP > PMMA > SBS. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012