Photodegradation of acrylic resins: influence of molecular weight on durability

The photo-oxidative behaviour of some acrilic resins having different starting molecular weight has been investigated under artificial solar light irradiation. The evolution of the molecular and chemical changes during ageing were followed by HPLC-SEC, FT-IR, DSC tecniques. The results of these experiments confirmed the outcomes of previous experiments made both by other authors and in our laborator about the role played by different groups in alfa-position and by the alkyl side group chain. We report the first results obtained outlining the influence of the starting molecular weight of the polymer on the photo-degradative behavior.