Thermal degradation of graft copolymers of PVC prepared by mastication with styrene and methyl methacrylate,and of further PVC mixtures and vinyl chloride copolymers

Graft copolymers prepared by mastication of PVC in the presence of styrene or of a styrene/ methyl methacrylate mixture, have been studied by thermogravimetry, estimation of hydrogen chloride, thermal volatilization analysis, and flash pyrolysis/g.l.c. The degradation behaviour of PVC/ polystyrene mixtures, vinyl chloride/styrene random copolymers, a random copolymer of methyl methacrylate and styrene, and PVC/poly-α-methylstyrene mixtures has also been studied. The graft copolymers resemble the PVC/methacrylate graft copolymers previously studied in showing retardation of the dehydrochlorination reaction, but contrast with them in yielding chain fragments but no monomer during HCl production. Some stabilization of the second component at higher temperatures is also found. PVC/polystyrene mixtures behave in the same way as the corresponding graft copolymers, but vinyl chloride/styrene copolymers show reduced stability towards both dehydrochlorination and monomer production compared with the homopolymers. PVC/poly-α-methylstyrene mixtures yield some monomer concurrently with HCl loss, and display marked retardation of the latter reaction. Stabilization of the second polymer at higher temperatures is again observed. Many of these results add further strong support to the view that chlorine atoms are involved as chain carriers in the thermal dehydrochlorination of PVC.     

Structural defects in polyvinylchloride—II Structure and properties of polyvinylchloride prepared in presence of oxygen and carbon monoxide

To investigate oxygen-containing structures in PVC, arising for example from the presence of air in technical polymerization vessels, vinyl chloride (VC) suspension polymerizations were performed with various amounts of added oxygen. Quantitative investigations demonstrated that the low molecular peroxides formed in the induction period decompose, resulting in hydrogen chloride, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide. Residual peroxides have been determined in the final copolymers and found to be mainly responsible for the considerable reduction in the thermal stability. Considerable evidence is provided that carbon monoxide, copolymerized with VC, is incorporated as a carboxylic acid sidegroup. It is considered to arise from a 1,2 chlorine shift to the carbonyl radical chain-end. The resulting acryloyl chlorides are capable of reacting with water, alcohols or amines to yield the corresponding acids, esters or amides. A new i.r. band at 1770 cm^?1 after alkali treatment of VC-CO copolymers containing acrylic acid groups is suggested as caused by the formation of butyrolactone structures. Butyrolactone formation by methyl chloride evolution was also observed in thermal degradation of VC-CO copolymers containing methyl acrylate units. The rates of dehydrochlorination of the copolymers are not very different from those of pure suspension PVC.     

The Reaction of Bicyclo [3.2.1] octenyl Halides with Metal Hydrides

Reduction of 2-phenyl- and 2-methyl-exo-3,4-dichlorobicyclo[3.2.1]oct-2-enes with lithium aluminium hydride (LAH) or tributyltin hydride (TBTH) gave endo-2-phenyl-3-chlorobicyclo[3.2.1]oct-3-ene, 2-phenyl-3-chlorobicyclo[3.2.1]oct-2-ene and their methyl analogues. The action of both reagents on 2-phenyl-exo-3, 4-dibromobicyclo[3.2.1]oct-2-ene similarly resulted in reductive monodebromination to give normal and allylically rearranged products. Additionally, further reduction occurred to give endo-2-phenylbicyclo[3.2.1]oct-3-ene and 2-phenylbicyclo[3.2.1]-oct-2-ene. In all cases, LAH gave mainly the allylic rearrangement product whereas TBTH gave mostly unrearranged product. The reason for these differences could have been due either to the intervention of allylic radicals in the TBTH reduction or to differences in nucleophilicity. The results also show that LAH is equally efficaceous as TBTH in the reduction of these allylic halides and equally selective in the reduction of the vinyl bromides. The stereochemistry of the allylic rearrangement was shown to be synfacial in that hydride replaced halide on the same face of the molecule.     

Thermal stability of graft modifications of PVC and related materials

The grafting of polyisobutylene and polybutadiene onto PVC by use of alkylaluminum compounds gives graft copolymers which are superior in thermal stability to unmodified PVC as determined by dehydrochlorination measurements at a low degree of decomposition. The alkylation of toluene with PVC also exhibits high heat stability. The improved thermal stability observed for the modified samples is ascribed to the existence of an induction period and/or lower dehydrochlorination rates. PVC grafted with polybutadiene in the absence of cobalt cocatalyst exhibits autocatalytic behavior and is less stable than the unmodified PVC.     

Dehydrochlorination of Poly(viny1 Chloride) in Pyridine. III. Thermal and Mechanical Properties

The thermal properties of dehydrochlorinated PVC (DHPVC) were evaluated. From thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), a larger decrease in thermal stability of dehydrochlorinated PVC than of PVC was observed. Thermal stability of DHPVC increased continuously with an increase in dehydrochlorination temperature and dilution of the reaction solution during dehydrochlorination. However, with an increase in dehydrochlorination time, an increase in thermal stability after an initial drop was obtained. The highly cross-linked product separated from the reaction solution at higher dehydrochlorination temperatures showed a lower thermal stability than that of corresponding soluble DHPVC. The stress-strain behavior of dehydrochlorinated PVC samples was also studied.     

Photodehydrochlorination of carbon monoxide–vinyl chloride copolymer

In order to examine effect of the carbonyl group in carbon monoxide–vinyl chloride copolymer, poly(CO–VC), photoirradiation with a high-pressure mercury lamp on the copolymer was carried out. Poly(CO–VC) had a rate of dehydrochlorination three times that of PVC, and the reaction involved a decrease in chlorine content. Also there was a marked change in the ultraviolet spectra of the photoirradiated films. However, no pronounced change of molecular weight was observed, but a change in R_f in TLC was observed clearly. These facts confirmed that photoirradiation of poly(CO–VC) produced a structural change by dehydrochlorination without serious decrease of molecular weight. In addition, photodehydrochlorination of the copolymer or PVC film was followed kinetically, and after ozonolysis of the dehydrochlorinated polymers, the number-average molecular weights were measured. From the results of degree of dehydrochlorination and molecular weight, the number average of conjugated double bonds or carbonyl groups was estimated. A mechanism for dehydrochlorination process by photo-irradiation is suggested.     

Radical block polymerization of vinyl chloride. II. Synthesis and characterization of vinyl chloride block copolymers

Peroxidized polypropylene has been used as a heterofunctional initiator for a two-step emulsion polymerization of a vinyl monomer (M₁) and vinyl chloride with the production of vinyl chloride block copolymers. Styrene, methyl-, and n-butyl methacrylate and methyl-, ethyl-, n-butyl-, and 2-ethyl-hexyl acrylate have been used as M₁ and polymerized at 30–40°C. In the second step vinyl chloride was polymerized at 50°C. The range of chemical composition of the block copolymers depends on the rate of the first-step polymerization of M₁ and the duration of the second step; e.g., with 2-ethyl-hexyl acrylate block copolymers could be obtained with a vinyl chloride content of 25–90%. The block copolymers have been submitted to precipitation fractionation and GPC analysis. Noteworthy is the absence of any significant amount of homopolymers, as well as poly(M₁)n as PVC. The absence of homo-PVC was interpreted by an intra- and intermolecular tertiary hydrogen atom transfer from polypropylene residue to growing PVC sequences. The presence of saturated end groups on the PVC chains is responsible for the improved thermal stability of these block polymers, as well as their low rate of dehydrochlorination (180°C). Molecular aggregation in solution has been shown by molecular weight determination in benzene and tetrahydrofuran.     

Cyclopentadienylation of PVC: Characterization and thermal and thermooxidative degradation studies

PVC has been cyclopentadienylated by two conventional basic, LiCp and NaCp, and a new acidic, Me₂CpAl, cyclopentadienylating agent. PVCs treated with basic cyclopentadienylating agents undergo severe random dehydrochlorination and exhibit a significant decrease in thermal and thermooxidative stability. In contrast, according to ozonization and degradation experiments, Me₂CpAl does not cause dehydrochlorination during cyclopentadienylation. The thermal stability of PVC treated with relatively high concentrations of Me₂CpAl and Me₃Al at 25°C markedly increases due to substitution of labile chlorines in PVC with methyl groups. Initial thermal dehydrochlorination behavior of virgin PVC and samples treated with Me₂CpAl at ?30°C are similar. In contrast, thermooxidative stability decreases on Me₂CpAl treatment at ?30°C; this is attributed to ease of oxidation of pendant cyclopentadienyl groups; that is, the formation of peroxy radicals that may initiate dehydrochlorination by attacking unchanged repeat units in PVC. Acceleration of thermal dehydrochlorination disappears and the length of polyene sequences is reduced on Me₂CpAl and Me₃Al treatment. These observations are attributed to differences in rates of protonation-deprotonation; that is, rates of reinitation of zipping of treated and untreated PVCs during thermal degration. The effect of traces of aluminum residues on degradation of modified PVCs, however, cannot be neglected.     

The thermal degradation of polychloroprene-III degradation of polychloroprene/poly(methyl methacrylate) mixtures

The mechanism of dehydrochlorination has been studied by examining the degradation of polychloroprene/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends, using thermal volatilization analysis and infrared spectroscopy; the behaviour has been compared with that previously found for PVC/PMMA blends. Unlike the latter system, the polychloroprene blends did not show any increased production of methyl methacrylate monomer in the early stages of breakdown. The stabilization effect on PMMA due to reaction of ester groups with hydrogen chloride, on the other hand, is much more evident in the case of polychloroprene blends than for PVC, PVC dehydrochlorination is retarded by the presence of PMMA, but evolution of hydrogen chloride from polychloroprene is unaffected to any significant extent. It is concluded that the dehydrochlorination of polychloroprene is not a radical chain process. A unimolecular mechanism is suggested.     

聚氯乙烯结构缺陷和热不稳定性之间关系的研究——Ⅰ.在单体不饱和蒸汽压下聚氯乙烯的合成及其热稳定性与分子量之间的关系

聚氯乙烯(PVC)容易发生脱氯化氢的热降解。研究者普遍认为,这是由于PVC分子链中存在结构缺陷而引起的。对究竟何种结构缺陷是引起PVC热不稳定的主要根源这一重要问题,虽然已有许多研究者进行过研究,但由于他们得到的结果往往各不相同,因而迄今未能达到一个明确一致的结论。如Minsker认为羰基烯丙基氯结构是引发脱HCl的主要原因。但Starnes却持相反意见。Hjertberg在其报告中指出叔氯     

聚氯乙烯结构缺陷和热不稳定性之间关系的研究——Ⅰ.在单体不饱和蒸汽压下聚氯乙烯的合成及其热稳定性与分子量之间的关系

Five PVC samples (U-PVC) were prepared in water suspended system at monomer unsa-turation vapor pressure. The molecular weigh's and dehydrochlorination rates (De-HCl) of these samples and five commercial PVC samples (S-PVC) were determined. Experimental data showed that the thermal stabilities and molecular weights of U-PVC samples decreased wifh decreasing the monomer unsaturation vapor pressure (Pm/Po) in the preparation process. It was found also that there was a good linear correlation between 1/Mm, De-HCl and Pm/Po This result indicated the important role of the terminal structural defect in the dehydrochlorination of PVC.The mechanism of formation of terminal structural uefects was discussed.     

Block copolymers of polystyrene and poly(dimethyl siloxane). I. Synthesis and characterization

The block copolymers of the ABA type, poly(dimethyl siloxane-b-styrene-b-dimethyl siloxane), were synthesized by the anionic polymerization of styrene and cyclic siloxane monomer, hexamethyl cyclotrisiloxane (D₃) or octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D₄), with lithium or sodium biphenyl as initiator. The effect of initiator concentration, gegenion, and the polymerization temperature for styrene on molecular weight distribution (MWD) was investigated. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) data show broader MWD of polystyrene prepared by sodium biphenyl in comparison to that produced by lithium biphenyl. The block copolymers have been characterized by infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. The influence of dimethylsiloxy units on thermal stability of the copolymers has also been discussed.     

Structural defects in polyvinylchloride—I. Internal unsaturation as initiation sites for dehydrochlorination

To obtain double bonds in PVC, copolymerizations of vinyl chloride (VC) with phenylacetylene (PA) and dimethylester of 2-butyne dioic acid (ADCE) were carried out. Copolymer compositions, as measured by i.r., were compared with ozonolytically evaluated chain scission numbers. Only the PA-units seemed to be incorporated at random in the PVC-chain. Phenyl groups conjugated to the double bonds led to a striking increase in thermal dehydrochlorination. Ozonolysis on degraded PVC samples provides insight into the mechanism of the dehydrochlorination, revealing the formation of additional unsaturated sites after degradation and permitting the estimation of average polyene sequence lengths.     

热稳定剂对PVC紫外光老化过程中微观结构及宏观性能演变的影响

通过UV-Vis、FTIR、DSC、以及色差、力学性能的测试表征,实时追踪分析了在紫外光老化过程中,含Pb、Sn以及Ca-Zn热稳定剂的PVC体系微观结构和宏观性能的演变过程.结果表明,在相同光老化条件下,PVC/Pb、PVC/Sn和PVC/Ca-Zn体系的微观结构变化规律基本一致,过程中主要的化学反应是,大分子吸收光能后,发生脱HCl生成共轭双键的反应、生成羰基的氧化反应、交联反应和降解反应;不同热稳定剂的作用,主要表现在对于微观结构变化的幅度和动力学过程的影响不同.相应地,3种体系的外观色差和力学性能的变化规律也相似,但色差的变化程度和速度以及老化后力学性能的保持率因所含热稳定剂的不同而不同,其中含Sn体系的颜色稳定性最好,含Pb体系的力学性能保持率最高。     

Structural effects on the thermal properties of PDPS/PDMS copolymers

A series of PDPS/PDMS copolymers were synthesized through living anionic polymerization withn-butyllithium as an initiator. The changes of thermal property as a function of PDPS content were compared with respect to different types of monomer sequence using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimtery. The results indicated that the related variations of the thermal propertiesvs. the PDPS content and the monomer sequence provided independent operative control for preparing materials with desired thermal properties. The thermal stability of these copolymers was dramatically improved with introducing PDPS segment. However, the degree of these improvement pedended greatly on the monomer sequence in the copolymers.     

Macromolecular models for branched PVC. II. Reactivity of chlorine bound to a tertiary carbon atom in the copolymer vinyl chloride–isopropenyl chloride

The selectivity of the phenolysis reaction of a chlorine atom bound to a tertiary carbon Cl_T on a macromolecular model, i.e., the copolymer of vinyl chloride–isopropenyl chloride, was verified. The phenolysis reaction can be used as a chemical method to determine Cl_T in the copolymers. Phenolic polyelectrolytes are obtained as products. The increase of the Cl_T content leads to an appreciable decrease of the thermal stability of the polymer. The thermal decomposition by dehydrochlorination is a chain reaction. The γ and ultraviolet radiolysis processes did not reveal a remarkable influence of Cl_T; the samples with an increased Cl_T content showed a decreased stability towards sunlight. One concludes that when Cl_T is present in PVC it can initiate the decomposition reaction at lower temperatures than would be expected.     

Comparative non-isothermal kinetic analysis of thermal degradation of poly(vinyl chloride) prepared by living and conventional free radical polymerization methods

Non-isothermal kinetics of the thermal degradation of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) prepared by a living radical polymerization (LRP) method was performed and compared with the results obtained from PVC prepared by the conventional free-radical process (FRP). Both differential and integral isoconversional methods were applied for determining the apparent activation energy of the dehydrochlorination stage. This study made clear noticeable differences in the thermal degradation of the PVC samples under analysis. The newly synthesized LRP-PVC material has a better thermal stability and presents substantial differences in the macroscopic kinetics of the dehydrochlorination process compared with conventional FRP-PVC. These differences were assessed in quantitative terms on the basis of the kinetic triplet [E_a,A,f(α)].     

Spectroscopy of irradiated vinyl chloride–propylene copolymers

Spectra of vinyl chloride—propylene copolymers irradiated at low temperature in vacuum have been obtained at selected temperatures in the range 130–335°K. Copolymers and PVC homopolymer pass through identical intermediate states of dehydrochlorination in which alkyl, allyl, and polyenyl radicals are observed. Substantial spectral differences between copolymers and PVC appearing in the final states of dehydrochlorination after warming above room temperature are consistent with shorter average polyene lengths in the copolymers. This probably results from termination of polyene growth by propylene comonomer. Spectral differences at long wavelength between copolymers with varying amounts of propylene are minor compared to the basic changes between copolymer and homopolymer.     

Thermal dehydrochlorination of poly(vinyl chloride)—epoxidized butadiene/styrene triblock copolymer blends

The effect of the type of epoxidized butadiene/styrene block copolymer [ESBS; linear (B/S) or radial (E(B/S)_n), containing 0–27% of epoxy groups] on the thermal dehydrochlorination of poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC)-ESBS blends (ESBS content 10%) was investigated in the temperature range 170–180 °C, under a non-oxygen atmosphere. Thermal stability of the PVC-ESBS blends was estimated on the basis of induction time, t₀, and maximum rate of hydrochloride emission, V_max from the system. It was found that, for a similar degree of epoxidation of the SBS copolymer, the induction time i.e. the time after which emission of HCl begins, is longer in the series PVC < PVC-SBS < PVC-EB/S < PVC-E(B/S)_n, and the same is true for thermal stability. However, the maximum rate of emission of HCl is lowest in the case of PVC-EB/S blends, in the range of molar ratios from 0.5 to 2.0 × 1O⁻². On the basis of the dependence V_max = f(EB/VC), it was found that there is a certain content of epoxidized butadiene (EB) units in a mixture which causes the optimum stability of poly (vinyl chloride) during heating. During thermal destruction of the PVC-ESBS blends, the HC1 evolved undergoes addition both to epoxy fragments and to double bonds. The degree of conversion of EB units in time t₀ is 20% at 170 °C and 30% at 180 °C. The glass transition temperature, T_g, of PVC in the PVC-ESBS blends shifts towards higher temperatures by about 6–8 °C, proving the existence of crosslinking processes during moulding of the blends. The epoxidized butadiene/styrene radial block copolymer, E(B/S)_n, is a better thermal stabilizer of PVC than the linear EB/S copolymer.     

Preparation and degradation of head-to-head PVC

The course of the chlorination reaction of cis-1,4-polybutadiene is dependent on the choice of solvent. When methylene chloride is used, a pure addition reaction of chlorine leads to a polymer with the structure of head-to-head, tail-to-tail PVC. The thermal stability of the head-to-head PVC polymer has been studied by thermal volatilization analysis, thermogravimetry, and evolved gas analysis for hydrogen chloride, and the changes in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of the polymer during degradation have been investigated. The head-to-head polymer has a lower threshold temperature of degradation than normal PVC, but reaches its maximum rate of degradation at a higher temperature for powder samples of the polymer under programmed heating conditions. Blends of head-to-head PVC with poly(methyl methacrylate) have also been degraded, and the presence of the head-to-head polymers, like that of normal PVC, results in depolymerization of the PMMA as soon as the dehydrochlorination reaction commences. The mechanism of degradation of head-to-head PVC is discussed.