ABSTRACT
The potential chromophores, together with their relative importance in initiation, have been discussed by Carlsson and Wiles (92,93). These authors have concluded that, of the many chromophoric impurities, hydroperoxides were the most suscep-
tible to satisfy the kinetic parameters of photooxidation during the early stages. The introduction of these species during the polymerization or the processing of the polymer and their further decomposition can be described by the well-established Bolland-Gee autooxidation mechanism, as shown in Scheme 1:
Branching POOH --4 PO· + PO·
Scheme 1 Autooxidation mechanism showing formation and decomposition of hydroperoxides during the processing.
