Comparison of the mass spectra of the volatile products liberated from polymers in the course of mechanical destruction and thermal degradation

The compositions of the volatile products liberated from polymers in the course of mechanical destruction and thermal degradation have been studied and compared by means of mass spectrometry. For those polymers in which in both cases breakdown of the macromolecules begins with the basic chain, the volatile products are the same. For polymers in which breakdown of the molecules in thermal degradation begins with the stripping of side groups, the volatile products of thermal and mechanical degradation are different. This confirms and extends the ideas of the kinetic theory of fracture concerning the relationship between the processes of mechanical fracture and thermal degradation of polymers.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 80–88, 1967