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Photodegradation kinetics of methyl salicylate in poly(methyl methacrylate)
Author(s) -
Renschler Clifford L.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.1984.070291246
Subject(s) - photodegradation , activation energy , quantum yield , reaction rate constant , decarboxylation , kinetics , methyl salicylate , methyl methacrylate , photochemistry , yield (engineering) , poly(methyl methacrylate) , materials science , irradiance , phenol , chemistry , polymer chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , catalysis , photocatalysis , physics , optics , fluorescence , composite material , ecology , monomer , quantum mechanics , biology
Abstract It has been found that methyl salicylate (MS) undergoes a photoinduced decarboxylation to form phenol with a quantum yield of ca. 8 × 10 −5 . The reaction is first order and the rate constant is proportional to the irradiance used. An activation energy of 1.2 kcal/mol was determined. Computer simulations were used to predict whether sufficient UV screening would be provided by MS‐containing PMMA lenses over the projected lifetime of solar photovoltaic devices. An effective screening lifetime of less than 2 years is predicted.