| has gloss | eng: Polymer degradation is a change in the properties - tensile strength, colour, shape, etc - of a polymer or polymer based product under the influence of one or more environmental factors such as heat, light or chemicals such as acids, alkalis and some salts. These changes are usually undesirable, such as changes during use, cracking and depolymerisation of products or, more rarely, desirable, as in biodegradation or deliberately lowering the molecular weight of a polymer for recycling. The changes in properties are often termed "ageing". |
