I am looking for a type of plastic, preferably in the form of a sheet or film, that is weatherproof, durable, flexible, and both transparent and UV-transparent. Most films I've seen so far are treated to be UV-resistant, where can I find untreated plastics for purchase? Planning to use this plastic in order to cover a solar panel, without inhibiting energy output.
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1$\begingroup$ The number of UV photons compared to those in the visible is very small, not only because of the black-body distribution from the sun but also because atmospheric ozone absorbs a lot of UV. So it may not be a cost effective solution since PMMA sheet is expensive. (They are treated to be UV resistant to extend their lifetime against UV induced photochemistry) $\endgroup$– porphyrinCommented Dec 6, 2016 at 21:55
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2 Answers
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Did you consider PMMA?
A 3 mm Plexiglas G UVT layer seems to have a transmittance > 80% at $\lambda = 300~\mathrm{nm}$ and above.
answered Dec 5, 2016 at 19:18
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I concur with Klaus's recommendation, PMMA is likely your best bet.
The UV disposable cuvettes we buy here are from BrandTech; below is a UV transmission chart for various materials from one of their marketing brochures (click image to enlarge):
They've clearly had success in developing materials with even better UV transmittance (green and yellow curves) than PMMA (red curve), but it looks like the latter may be your best option.
