Je. Pickett et al., EFFECT OF ACCELERATED EXPOSURE CONDITIONS ON THE PHOTODEGRADATION OF BPA POLYCARBONATE ABS BLENDS/, Die Angewandte makromolekulare Chemie, 247, 1997, pp. 1-18
A BPA polycarbonate/ABS blend containing 2% TiO2 was exposed to xenon
are irradiation under SAE J1885 conditions (quartz/borosilicate filter
s), ''CRD'' conditions (borosilicate/borosilicate filters), and ASTM D
4459-86 conditions (borosilicote/soda lime filters). The results an: c
onsistent with the conclusion that polycarbonate dominates the photoch
emistry of polycarbonate/ABS blends under SAE J1885 and CRD xenon are
exposure conditions. Exposure under ASTM D4459-86 conditions produced
results similar to CRD conditions with some additional contribution at
tributable to the ABS component. The ''activation spectrum'' of PC/ABS
blends under CRD conditions closely resembled the sum of the activati
on spectra of ABS and PC determined under similar conditions. The well
-known change in mechanism that occurs when polycarbonate is exposed t
o light with wavelengths < 300 nm was manifested by increased rates of
yellowing, surface erosion, and loss of gloss under SAE J1885 conditi
ons. Because of the mechanism change, resting under quartz/borosilicat
e filtered xenon are exposure cannot be considered to be appropriate f
or polycarbonate-containing formulations.