Structural, thermal and life span estimation of long-term ultraviolet aged PVC/ZnO nanocomposite

PVC-based nanocomposites with varying concentrations of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles are fabricated using the melt mixing technique and then subjected to compression molding to acquire desired shapes (circular) and thickness (1.5 mm). Conformational analysis is performed using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and optical microscopy. The prepared samples are then exposed under UV light having an intensity of 5.11 mW/cm² for 5000 lab hours of aging. The effect of UV aging on the structural and thermal behavior of the nanocomposites is analyzed at every 1000 h. Structural degradation of more than 50% in the case of neat PVC has been observed to be reduced with the increase in filler concentration. The contact angle values for 2, 4 and 6 phr of PVC nanocomposites after 5000 h of aging are 69°, 93°, and 104° having hydrophobicity classes of HC3, HC2, and HC2, respectively. The detailed analysis to study the effect of UV aging on the thermal behavior of the nanocomposites is evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry in the temperature range of 60–220 °C. Finally, the life span of all the samples was calculated using statistical calculations and it was observed that PVC with 2 phr of ZnO showed a maximum lifetime of 17,750 lab hours whereas for PVC with 0 phr of ZnO 8693 lab hours were calculated.