Effects of UV radiation on some properties of dyed polylactide film

The effects of the UV radiation on the surface geometrical structure, phase transition temperatures, and the temperature of the onset of thermal decomposition of a polylactide film containing 2 wt % of dye are presented. The surface geometrical structure was examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The Temperatures of both the phase transitions and the changes in the melting enthalpy of the crystalline phase were determined using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The temperature of the onset of thermal decomposition of the film was determined with a thermogravimetry (TG) instrument. It was found that the UV radiation generated in an aging test chamber mostly causes changes in the surface geometrical structure of the examined film and reduces the onset temperature of the film thermal decomposition.