V. Dudler et al., USE OF CHEMILUMINESCENCE TO THE STUDY OF PHOTOSTABILITY OF AUTOMOTIVECOATINGS, Polymer degradation and stability, 60(2-3), 1998, pp. 351-365
Chemiluminescence (CL) imaging has been used to study the photodegrada
tion of two automotive coatings, a melamine-crosslinked acrylic resin
and an acrylic polyurethane, as a function of artificial weathering ti
me. Characteristics of the CL emission from coatings, the influence of
light stabilizers and different types of sample were studied. The res
ults indicate that the method is highly sensitive and can be used to m
easure photodegradation in unstabilized and stabilized coatings after
only 48 h and 100-200 h of exposure, respectively. Measurements can be
carried out on free clearcoats or on clearcoats applied on metallic p
anels. It is also possible to assess the degradation of individual lay
ers in multiple-layer coating systems. Extrapolation to the failure ti
me of coatings by CL is not yet achievable, but results show that the
technique is useful for rapidly screening the relative performance of
new coating formulations or light stabilizers added to clearcoats. (C)
1998 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserved.