Utilization of Metal Oxides Nanoparticles in Modulating Polyvinyl Chloride Films to Resist Ultraviolet Light

Modified poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) films with organic groups (amino group from ethylene di-amine (en) and a suitable aromatic aldehyde from benzaldehyde (BEN)) were synthesized by casting using tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent. The films were doped with four metal oxides nanoparticles (NPs), namely: CuO, Cr2O3, TiO2, and Co2O3, to improve the anti-photodegradation property. The films were irradiated with ultraviolet light and the resulting damage was assessed using different analytical and morphological techniques. These techniques included FTIR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectroscopies that were used to examine the chemical structure, while another set of devices, namely optical microscope, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to examine the morphology. In order to confirm that modified PVC acts as PVC photostabilizers, the roughness factor (Rq) was measured for the irradiated PVC films. The average Rq for irradiated blank PVC, modified PVC, modified PVC/CuO NPs, modified PVC/TiO2 NPs, modified PVC/Co2O3 NPs, and modified PVC/Cr2O3 NPs films were 368.3, 76.1, 62.6, 53.2, 45.8, and 33.8, respectively. Infrared spectroscopy and weight loss determination indicated that the films incorporated with additives showed less damage and fewer surface changes compared to the blank film. All mentioned additives acted as UV screeners against the UV light. The modified PVC/Cr2O3 NPs film showed the highest ability to resist the photo-degradation process based on the results data of FTIR spectra, weight loss, and surface morphology. In addition, after 300 h of irradiation, the weight percentage of modified PVC/Cr2O3 NPs film was 0.911 in contrast to the blank PVC, 2.896. Among the tested films, modified PVC/Cr2O3 NPs film showed the best results.