We studied in this work the whitening mechanism in injection molded polypropylene (PP), a problem usually manifested in car parts and particularly in car bumpers. For the development of this work we had samples (plaques and test samples) with and without antioxidants and ultraviolet stabilizers. These samples had been already aged by natural and artificial (Weatherometer equipment) exposure. In the natural aging samples were collected when the material started to whiten, after 3190, 4320 and 6190 h of exposure. In the artificial aging samples were collected after 415, 515 and 3000 h of exposure. The samples were characterized by visual observation, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, surface total light reflectance and titanium mapping in the samples cross section by X-ray microfluorescence and X-ray difraction of the TiO2 used in the formulation. When the samples start to whiten we observe the evolution of surface fissures which increase the surface roughness. This is followed by an increase in the total light reflection by the surface for all wavelengths. We observed that titanium is almost homogeneously distributed along samples cross section. In addition, we did not observe high concentration of exposed TiO2 on the surface. We conclude that the whitening phenomenon is a consequence of surface fissures evolution, which provides higher surface roughness and is followed by a higher surface diffuse light reflectance.
Whitening; bumper; TiO2; photodegradation; aging
