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Photooxidative Behavior of Polystyrene Nanocomposites Filled with Two-Dimensional Molybdenum Disulfide
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This study examined how very low concentrations of molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles affect the photodegradation of polystyrene, finding that even small amounts of the additive altered UV weathering behavior. Understanding how plastic additives affect weathering is important because UV degradation is a primary pathway by which plastic debris fragments into microplastics in the environment.
This study aimed to investigate how an ultralow content of a molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) two-dimensional particle affects the photodegradation mechanism of polystyrene (PS). Here, an accelerated weathering study was presented on neat polystyrene and its nanocomposites produced with 0.001, 0.002, 0.003 and 0.005 wt% of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) exposed for various irradiation intervals (up to 8 weeks). The polymer photo-transformations were monitored using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The FTIR and UV/Vis results indicate that the PS degradation mechanism was not altered by the presence of MoS2 particles; however, the degradation reactions were slowed down at higher MoS2 contents (>0.003%). The SEC results proved the stabilizer effect due to MoS2 particles, where M¯n, M¯w, and M¯w/M¯n values after 8 weeks were less modified when compared with the neat PS results. The MoS2 acted as a UV stabilizer, and these two-dimensional particles acted by deactivating the free radicals generated by the PS matrix, even considering the low amount of the filler (<0.005 wt%).
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