Studies on the Thermal Decomposition of Benzoic Acid and its Derivatives

The thermal decomposition of benzoic acid and its derivatives containing —OH, —NH₂, —COOH and —SO₃H functional groups as substituents in ortho, meta and (or) para position together with sulphanilic acid was investigated. The analyses were performed using derivatograph, sample mass ranged from 50 to 200 mg, heating rates from 3 to 15 K min⁻¹ and static air atmosphere. It has been established that thermal decomposition of these aromatic acids proceeds through three common stages. In the first stage the phase transformations occur. The following two stages are due to the formation of intermediate products of the thermal decomposition and their combustion. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied for evaluation of the results. Thanks to this method the influence of specific functional groups and their positions on the benzene ring on the thermal decomposition of the compounds under investigation was determined. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.