Photodegradation behavior of the polycarbonate/TiO₂ composite films under the UV irradiation in ambient air condition

Photocatalytic degradation mechanism of the polycarbonate(PC)/TiO 2 composite films was studied under the ambient air condition in order to investigate the feasibility of the PC/TiO 2 composite as a photodegradable polymer. TiO 2 composition in the PC/TiO 2 composite was changed from 0 wt% to 4 wt%. Photodegradation behaviors of the composite films were compared with that of the pure PC films by performing the weight loss monitoring under UV irradiation, FTIR spectroscopy, color measurement analysis, SEM, and XPS analysis. The weight loss rate of the PC/TiO 2 composite film (33% weight loss after 300 h) with 4 wt% TiO 2 was twice as high as the pure PC films (14% weight loss after 300 h). The increase in the FTIR hydroxyl peak, and carbonyl peak intensity and the yellowing observation during the photodegradation were due to the formation of the photoproducts (aliphatic, aromatic chain‐ketones, aromatic, and OH radical) and the structural modification of polycarbonate. XPS analysis of composite film showed the photodegradation of the polymer surface and TiO 2 particles exposure on the surface of the composite films matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1462–1468, 2015.