Abstract: A novel photodegradable low-density-polyethylene nanocomposite film filled with grafted nano-TiO2 (TiO2-g-PS/LDPE) was prepared by embedding polystyrene (PS) grafted TiO2 into the commercial LDPE. Solid-phase photocatalytic degradation of TiO2-g-PS/LDPE nanocomposite film was carried out in ambient air at room temperature under ultraviolet irradiation. The properties of the nanocomposite film were compared with that of pure LDPE film and TiO2/LDPE film by TG, FTIR and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the photo-induced degradation of TiO2-g-PS/LDPE nanocomposite film was significantly faster than that of pure LDPE film and TiO2/LDPE film. The weight loss of TiO2-g-PS/LDPE nanocomposite film reached 36.2 % under ultraviolet irradiation for 336 h.

Key words: LDPE, grafted TiO2, nanocomposite film, Solid-phase photocatalytic degradation