Thermal Decomposition and Glass Transition Temperature of Poly(methyl Methacrylate) and Poly(isobutyl Methacrylate)

Abstract

The thermal decomposition and the glass transition temperatures of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(isobutyl methacrylate) (PiBuMA) were studied with a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The undecomposed and decomposed polymers were analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for molecular weight distributions and by DSC for changes in the thermal properties and glass transition temperatures, T. In the isothermal decomposition of PMMA and PiBuMA, depolymerization reactions exclusively are operative. During low temperature decompositions, longer PMMA chains depolymerize first. These are followed by the shorter chains. In the case of PiBuMA, the shorter chains depolymerize first. Some of these undergo chain recombinations to yield very high molecular weight products. For identical values of weight loss, the respective decomposition temperatures for PiBuMA are 40 to 70 K lower than those for PMMA. The activation energies of decomposition (42 kJ/mol for PMMA and 67 kJ/mol for PiBuMA) have been found to be lower than those reported in the literature. Although T_g∞ of PiBuMA (331 K) agrees well with the literature value (326 K), T_g∞ of atactic PMMA (394 K) is higher than the reported value (378 K).     

Thermomechanical behavior of a polyphenylquinoxaline

Crosslinking of linear poly[2,2′-(1,4-phenylene)-6,6′-bis(3-phenylquinoxaline)] (PPQ) by isothermal heat exposure in the temperature range between 425 and 490°C was investigated by means of torsional braid analysis. The change in glass transition temperature due to isothermal exposure was used as a kinetic parameter. In order to determine the effect of molecular weight and type of polymer chain ends, three PPQ samples were prepared that differed only in molecular weight and polymer chain endgroups. The apparent activation energy of isothermal crosslinking was independent of molecular weight and chain endings. Its value of 60 kcal/mole is the same as that for the thermal degradation of PPQ (determined by isothermal weight loss measurements). The rates of change of T_g at a particular temperature, however, are a function of both molecular weight (at least for these polymers that do not have a sufficiently high molecular weight) and the type of polymer chain ends. It was observed that isothermally crosslinked PPQ gave a higher break point in the TGA curve and also an increased char yield at 800°C than the linear precursor.     

Thermal analysis of polydimethylsiloxanes. I. Thermal degradation in controlled atmospheres

Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) of catalyst-free polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) have been carried out in controlled atmospheres and a kinetic analysis of the results has enabled the various decomposition processes to be separated and identified. The calculated activation energy for thermal depolymerization is 42 ± 3 kcal/mole, while thermo-oxidation has an apparent activation energy of 30 ± 2 kcal/mole. Quantitative analyses of the major degradation products and molecular weight distribution studies of the residues from degradation studies under isothermal conditions have shown that in vacuo, PDMS fractions depolymerize to cyclic dimethylsiloxanes and low molecular weight linear residues by a randomly initiated mechanism which, it is postulated, involves the formation of an intramolecular, cyclic, four-centered transition state followed by siloxane bond rearrangement. This mechanism is a basic property of linear PDMS fractions and is independent of molecular weight. Molecular weight distribution (MWD) changes observed from further isothermal investigations on hydroxy endblocked PDMS fractions, have shown the presence of a chain-lengthening process in vacuo below the depolymerization temperature. This process, with an apparent activation energy of 8.6 ± 1 kcal/mole, is attributed to the intermolecular condensation of terminal hydroxyl groups.     

Thermal decomposition of poly(butylene terephthalate)

Detailed results of the overall thermal degradation of poly(butylene terephthalate) are reported. Laser microprobe analysis and dynamic mass spectrometric techniques were used to identify the primary volatile degradation products and initial pyrolysis reactions that control polymer degradation. A complex multistage decomposition mechanism was observed which involves two major reaction pathways. Initial degradation occurs by an ionic decomposition process that results in the evolution of tetrahydrofuran. This is followed by concerted ester pyrolysis reactions that involve an intermediate cyclic transition state and yield 1,3-butadiene. Simultaneous decarboxylation reactions occur in both decomposition regimes. Finally, the latter stages of polymer decomposition were characterized by evolution of CO and complex aromatic species such as toluene, benzoic acid, and terephthalic acid. Activation energies of formation for the main pyrolysis products were determined from the dynamic measurements of the major ion species and indicate values of E = 27.9 kcal/mole for the production of tetrahydrofuran and E = 49.7 kcal/mole for the production of butadiene.     

Poly[(4-N-ethylene-N-ethylamino)-α-cyanocinnamate]: A nonlinear optical polymer with a chromophoric mainchain. I. Synthesis and spectral characterization

Poly[(4-N-ethylene-N-ethylamino)-α-cyanocinnamate] was prepared by solution esterification of (4-N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl) amino)-α-Cyanocinnamic acid and by melt transesterification of ethyl (4-N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl) amino)-α-cyanocinnamate. The melt transesterification generally yielded polymer with a number-average molecular weight of about 10,200 by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) versus polystyrene standards. The polymer was found to be amorphous with a glass transition temperature of about 103°C by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The solution esterification generally gave a polymer with a number-average molecular weight of about 2200 by GPC versus polystyrene standards. This polymer was found to have a glass transition temperature varying between 60 and 90°C by DSC. The infrared (IR) spectrum of the polymer made from both methods were analyzed in detail. The ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectra of the meltsynthesized ethyl cinnamate derivative polymer are consistent with the reported structure.     

Effect of Topology on the Properties of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) in Water and in Bulk

Three macrocyclic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)s (PNIPAM) with molecular weight (MW) ranging from 6 to 19 kg/mol were synthesized by ‘click’ ring closure of the corresponding α-azido ω-propargyl telechelic linear PNIPAMs, themselves prepared by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies revealed that both the thermal phase separation in water and the glass transition in bulk of PNIPAM were affected by polymer topology. In aqueous solution, the cyclic polymers exhibit a higher phase separation temperature and broader phase transition range than the corresponding linear counterparts. In bulk, the cyclic polymers display a higher glass transition temperature of lesser molecular weight dependence, as compared to their linear precursors.     

Thermal degradation of polyacrylonitrile in the temperature range 280–450°c.

This paper presents a study of the thermal degradation of polyacrylonitrile of 13,000 to 43,000 number-average molecular weight in vacuum over the temperature range 280–450°C. Sixteen products of the decomposition were identified by chromatographic and infrared analytical techniques. The five major products, i.e., cyanogen, hydrogen cyanide, acrylonitrile, acetonitrile, and vinylacetonitrile, were monitored at intervals during the decomposition using gas chromatography. Activation energies of 15 and 23 kcal./mole were calculated from initial rates of formation of HCN and cyanogen, respectively. The overall activation energy of the polymer degradation was found to be 3.6 kcal./mole. The residue of the decomposition in the temperature region 280–450°C. was suggested by infrared absorption measurements and elemental analysis to be a polymer of the structure The rate of production of vinylacetonitrile was found to be proportional to the production of the residual black poly-1,4,4-trihydronaphthyridine. A new photothermal degradation cell is also presented.     

Unique evolution of spatial and dynamic heterogeneities on the glass transition behavior of PVPh/PEO blends

Glass transition behavior of hydrogen bonded polymer blends of poly(vinyl phenol)(PVPh) and poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO) is systematically investigated using normal differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and recently developed multifrequency temperature-modulated DSC(TOPEM),in combination with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) techniques,focusing on the effect of the PEO molecular weight on the spatial and dynamic heterogeneity.It is found,for the first time,that both the glass transition temperature(T_g) and activity energy(E_a) of the blends strongly depend on PEO molecular weight,and a common turning point,which separates the rapid and slow increasing regions,can be found.The interchain hydrogen bonding interactions,both determined by FTIR measurements and obtained from the Kwei equation,decrease with increasing PEO molecular weight,indicating a decrease of the componential miscibility.A series of parameters related to the microscopic spatial and dynamic heterogeneity,such as the activity energy, fragility,nonexponential factor and the size of cooperatively rearranging regions,are calculated from frequency dependency complex heat capacity measured using TOPEM.It is found that each of these parameters monotonically changes with increasing the PEO molecular weight during the glass transition process,demonstrating that hydrogen bonding interaction is the key factor in controlling the spatial and dynamic heterogeneity,thus the glass transition.NMR relaxation results reveal the existence of obvious phase separation large than 5 nm,implying that the cooperatively rearranging regions should be closely related to the interphase region between the two components.The above obtained origin and evolution of spatial and dynamic heterogeneity provide a new insight into the glass transition behavior of polymer blends.     

Synthesis and thermal properties of emulsion terpolymers of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-p-tolylmaleimide/butadiene–styrene latex/AN/St

Heat-resistance ABS resin was synthesized by emulsion polymerization of N-p-tolylmaleimide (N-PTMI), butadiene–styrene latex (SB), AN and St. Thermal properties of terpolymers with different monomer ratio were characterized by DSC and TG. The molecular mass and molecular mass distribution of terpolymers were determined with GPC. The results shown the heat-resistance of terpolymers, the glass transition temperature and the decomposition temperature were increased with the increasing of N-PTMI feed content. With the increasing of AN feed content, the glass transition temperature of terpolymers decrease while the decomposition temperature increase. The glass transition temperature of terpolymers decrease with SB feed content and the product shows plastic properties when SB feed content is lower than 45 (m/m %).     

Relation of the decay of free radicals in irradiated polyethylene to the molecular motion of the polymer and the configurations of the free radicals

Decay reactions of the free radicals produced in irradiated polyethylene (high-density and low-density materials) were examined in connection with the molecular motion of the matrix polymer. Three temperature regions, in which the free radicals decay very rapidly, at around 120, 200, and 250°K, were designated T_A, T_L, and T_B, respectively. The decay of the free radicals at these temperatures had activation energies in high-density polyethylene of 0.4 kcal/mole for T_A, 9.4 kcal/mole for T_L, and 18.4 kcal/mole for T_B. In low-density polyethylene these quantities were 0.7 kcal/mole for T_A, 23.1 kcal/mole for T_L, and 24.8 kcal/mole for T_B. Comparison of time constants for the decay reactions and for molecular motion of the matrix polymer indicate that the decay in T_A and T_B is closely related to molecular motion in the amorphous regions of the polymer. The decay of the free radicals at T_L in high-density polyethylene is due to molecular motion associated with local mode relaxation at lamellar surfaces, while that of low-density polyethylene is due to local mode relaxation in the completely amorphous region. Steric configurations of the free radicals which decay in the respective temperature regions were also investigated.     

Calorimetric investigation of polymerization reactions. III. Curing reaction of epoxides with amines

The curing reactions of epoxy resin with aliphatic diamines and the reaction of phenyl glycidyl ether with butylamine as a model for the curing reactions were investigated with a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) operated isothermally. The heat of reaction of phenyl glycidyl ether with butylamine is equal to 24.5 ± 0.6 kcal/mole. The rate of reaction was followed over the whole range of conversion for both model and curing reactions. The reactions are accelerated by the hydrogen-bond donor produced in the system. The rate constants based on the third-order kinetics were determined and discussed for the model reaction and for the chemically controlled region of curing reactions. The activation energies for these rate constants are 13-14 kcal/mole. At a later stage of conversion, the curing reactions become controlled by diffusion of functional groups. The final extent of conversion is short of completion for most isothermally cured and even for postcured samples because of crosslinking. It was quantitatively indicated that the final conversion of isothermal cure corresponds to the transition of the system from a viscous liquid to a glass on the basis of the theory of glass transition temperature of crosslinked polymer systems.     

Photolysis of poly(tert-butyl acrylate) in the region of the glass transition temperature

The thin film (1 × 10^?5 cm.) photolysis (2537 A.) of poly(tert-butyl acrylate) under 1 atm. helium pressure has been investigated in detail. Isobutene was the only significant volatile product in the temperature range 20–110°C. The reaction was demonstrated to be initially a first-order decomposition with an energy of activation of 3.3 kcal./mole in the glassy state. Above the glass transition temperature a value of 1.8 kcal./mole was found. The rate of isobutene formation is autoaccelerated when a minimum of one acrylic acid unit is generated per chain. The initial quantum yield for the formation of isobutene varies from 0.083 to 0.17 over the temperature range studied. There was no dependence of quantum yield on the exciting wavelength using sources of 1849, 2537, and 3660 A. The intensity exponent was found to be unity, consistent with first-order decomposition kinetics.     

Radiation-induced ionic polymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether in bulk

The radiation-induced ionic polymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether was investigated under conditions where the monomer was dried with molecular sieves. The investigation covered the temperature range from ?16°C to 90°C, and the dose-rate range from 10¹⁵ to 10²⁰ eV/g-sec, using both γ-rays and electrons. A very high overall activation energy of 15.9 kcal/mole was found for the process below 30°C. Above 30°C, however, the value of the overall activation energy dropped to 4.9 kcal/mole, a phenomenon which is ascribed to the solvation of the propagating carbonium ion below 30°C. The dose-rate dependence of the rate of polymerization was found to be 0.58 over the entire dose-rate range investigated. The molecular weight of the polymer was found to be far less sensitive to trace amounts of water than the rate of polymerization. The molecular weight of the polymer depended strongly on the irradiation temperature, reaching a maximum value of about 120,000 at 35°C. It is shown that at temperatures above 20°C regenerative chain transfer processes play an important role in determining the molecular weight of the polymer.     

Thermal degradation of poly-p-oxybenzoate under vacuum

The thermal degradation of poly-p-oxybenzoate in vacuo as function of temperature has been studied. The energy of activation of the process up to about 30% volatile formation is 59.6 kcal/mole. The degradation is preceded by induction periods, which have been shown to be due to poor heat conductivity of the polymer powder. CO, CO₂, phenol, and an unknown compound of molecular weight larger than 200 are the main degradation products found by chromatographic analysis. Infrared spectra of the original polymer, the polymer residue after degradation and of a degradation product solid at room temperature are presented. The possible reactions taking place have been indicated. The heat stability of the polymer in vacuo lies between those of polytetra-fluoroethylene and polyethylene.     

Thermal and electrical behaviors of acid functionalized MWCNT/ABC-type triblock copolymer grafted-MWCNT nanocomposites

In this work, ABC-type triblock copolymer grafted onto the surface of the MWCNT/acid functionalized MWCNT (MWCNT-COOH) composites were prepared and the properties of nanocomposites were characterized extensively using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), ac electrical conductivity and dielectrical measurements.

DSC study showed that the glass transition temperatures of the nanocomposites are a some higher than that of the matrix polymer. The increase in oxidized MWCNT in the nanocomposite improved the thermal stability of the composite, according to initial decomposition temperatures. The ac electrical conductivity has increased moderately with increasing frequency, but has increased slowly with increase in the oxidized MWCNT content in the nanocomposites. The electrical conductivity increases slowly with increasing temperature to about the glass transition temperature, then it increases faster. The dielectric constants for the matrix polymer and all the composites decreases slightly with increasing frequency from 0.1 kHz to 2.0 kHz. The dielectric constant increases slightly with increasing temperature up to about the glass transition temperature region and then the increase in temperature is accelerated the increase in the dielectric constant.     

聚DL-乳酸的合成及其热性能研究

以辛酸亚锡为催化剂催化丙交酯开环聚合DL-乳酸(PDLLA)。研究了影响PDLLA分子量的因素包括丙交酯单体的纯度、催化剂的浓度、反应温度、反应时间及真空度等。用DSC,TGA分析了不同分子量PDLLA的警警化转变和热失重。结果表明,PDLLA是热不稳定聚合物,残留的单体、催化剂及低聚物是影响PDLLA热稳定性的因素,除去其中残留的单体、催化剂及低聚物可以提高PDLLA的热稳定性。     

高分子量DL-丙交酯的合成及热降解

研究了聚ＤＬ－丙交酯（ＰＤＬＬＡ）的合成及热降解性能。发现影响聚合物分子量的关键因素是单体的重结晶、引发剂的浓度以及安瓿瓶在封管时的干燥和真空度。采用ＤＳＣ、ＴＧＡ分析了ＰＤＬＬＡ的玻璃化转变和热分解。ＰＤＬＬＡ是热不稳定聚合物,影响其热稳定性的主要因素是残留单体、催化剂和低聚物的含量,将聚合物溶解沉淀处理可以延缓其热解速度,提高它的热稳定性。     

On the glass transition temperature of styrene-n-butyl methacrylate copolymers in dependence on chemical composition,molecular weight,and mixtures

For statistic copolymers of styrene and n-butyl methacrylate, the relation between the glass transition temperature and the chemical composition or molecular weight of the copolymers has been determined. Further, the dependence of the glass transition temperature on the composition of binary and ternary blends from statistical poly (styrene-co-n-butyl methacrylates) of a nearly equal chemical composition but a very different molecular weight has been studied. Among several equations considered for the correlation between glass transition temperature and composition of the mentioned copolymers with relatively low molecular weights, the Gordon/Taylor and Couchman equations gave the best agreement with the experimental results. For the glass transition temperature of poly(styrene-co-n-butyl methacrylate) with an n-butyl methacrylate content of about 30 wt % in dependence on the molecular weight, the Kanig-Ueberreiter and Fox-Flory equations proved to be useful for the examined molecular weight range. The glass transition temperatures of the polymer blends have been studied for a low/high-molecular component system, a system of two low-molecular components, as well as for systems with a third component. The glass transition temperatures of the mixtures frequently exceeded those of their individual components. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Soluble aromatic polyamides modified by incorporation of 1,2,4-triazole and pentadecyl units into the backbone of polymer

Abstract

A new series of soluble aromatic polyamides was synthesized by low temperature solution polycondensation of novel aromatic diamine namely 3,5-bis-(4′-amino phenyl)-4-(4″-methoxy-2″-pentadecyl phenyl) 1,2,4-triazole (VII) with aromatic diacid chlorides, viz. isophthaloyl chloride (IPC) and terephthaloyl chloride (TPC). The aromaticdiamine (VII) was characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, NMR (¹H, ¹³C), and mass spectrometry. Copolyamides were also synthesized by employing various mole proportions of IPC and TPC with diamine (VII). Inherent viscosities of these polyamides were in the range of 0.50–0.65 dL/g in DMAc, indicating formation of moderate to high molecular weight of polyamides. These polyamides showed good solubility in polar aprotic solvents such as N,N-Dimethyl acetamide (DMAc), N-Methyl 2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N, N, Dimethyl formamide (DMF), and Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), which may be due to incorporation of pendant methoxyphenyl moiety with pentadecyl units. The amorphous morphology of polyamides as evidenced by XRD. These polyamides had lower glass transition temperatures; as determined by DSC, compared to the T_g of conventional aromatic polyamides due to internal plasticization effect of long alkyl pentadecyl group. Polymers showed good thermal stability, with initial decomposition temperature above 300?°C.