Thermal decomposition of polymer mixtures of PVC,PET and ABS containing brominated flame retardant: Formation of chlorinated and brominated organic compounds

The thermal decomposition of various mixtures of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS), ABS containing brominated epoxy resin flame retardant and Sb₂O₃, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) has been studied in order to clarify the reactions between the components of mixed polymers. More than 40 halogen-containing molecules have been identified among the pyrolysis products of mixed samples. Brominated and chlorinated aromatic esters were detected from the mixtures containing PET and halogen-containing polymers. A series of chlorinated, brominated and mixed chlorinated and brominated phenols and bisphenol A molecules have been identified among the pyrolysis products of polymer mixtures containing flame retarded ABS and PVC. It was established that the decomposition rate curves (DTG) of the mixtures were not simple superpositions of the individual components indicating interactions between the decomposition reactions of the polymer components. The maximal rate of thermal decomposition of both ABS and PET decreases significantly if the mixture contains brominated epoxy flame retardant and Sb₂O₃ synergist. The dehydrochlorination rate of PVC is enhanced in the presence of ABS or PET.     

Thermal degradation of fire retardant chloroparaffin-metal compound mixtures—Part I: Antimony oxide

The main characteristics of the evolution of HCl and SbCl₃ during the thermal degradation of chloroparaffin-Sb₂O₃ mixtures, which are typical fire retardant additives for polymers, have been studied.Sb₂O₃ reacts with HCl evolved from the chloroparaffin without any apparent effect on the dehydrochlorination process itself. Evolution of SbCl₃ occurs at a maximum rate between 300 and 350°C and is somewhat delayed in the earlier stage of reaction, depending on the composition of the mixture.     

Thermal degradation of a highly chlorinated paraffin used as a fire retardant additive for polymers

The thermal degradation of a highly chlorinated paraffin, (Cl 70% w/w)(CP), used as a fire retardant additive for polymers, has been studied by TG, DTA and TVA. The main volatile degradation product is HCl which is eliminated in two steps. To 60–70% dehydrochlorination an apparent zero order reaction occurs with a detectable rate from 250°C, probably initiated at labile chlorine atoms. The apparent activation energy of the process is 40 kcal/mole. A charred residue containing 35% chlorine is obtained. This residue undergoes nearly complete dehydrochlorination in the range 300–600°C.     

Miscibility behavior of di(ethyl-2 hexyl) phthalate in binary and ternary chlorinated polymer blends

The miscibility behavior of ternary blends made by the addition of di(ethyl-2 hexyl) phthalate (DOP) to a mixture of chlorinated polymers was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. Two chlorinated polymer mixtures were selected: polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with a chlorinated polyethylene containing 48 wt% Cl (CPE48), and PVC with a chlorinated PVC containing 67 wt% Cl (CPVC67). Each binary DOP/chlorinated polymer pair is miscible whereas PVC/CPE48 and PVC/CPVC67 blends are immiscible. DOP/CPE48/PVC and DOP/PVC/CPVC67 ternary blends containing, respectively, more than 55 and 20% DOP exhibit a single glass transition temperature (T_g). The spinodal between the one-T_g zone and the two-T_g zone is symmetrical in the two cases. At high DOP concentrations, a quantitative analysis of the results leads to the conclusion of the presence of a true ternary phase. At low DOP concentrations where two T_gs are observed, the DOP is distributed equally between the two chlorinated polymers forming, in the DOP/CPE48/PVC case for instance, two binary DOP/CPE48 and DOP/PVC phases. The broad immiscibility zone observed in the DOP/CPE48/PVC ternary blend as compared to the DOP/PVC/CPVC67 blend appears to be mainly caused by the high molecular weight of CPE48, as compared with PVC and CPVC67. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.     

Heat Degradation of PVC Stabilized by Treatment with Alkylaluminum Compounds

Thermal degradation of PVC treated with alkylaluminum compounds has been studied. Four PVC samples of different molecular weights have been treated with Me₃Al, and Et₃A₁, and the dehydrochlorination rates of the polymers were determined at 190 and 220°C under a nitrogen atmosphere. The alkylaluminum-treated low molecular weight samples show marked increase in thermal stability, i. e., slower rate of dehydrochlorination right from the beginning of degradation, whereas with the higher molecular weight samples stabilization becomes pronounced only after a few percent of dehydrochlorination. The color of R₃Al-treated samples was much lighter (yellowish) than those of controls (dark brown) at 1% HCl loss. The average polyene sequence lengths formed during the early stages of dehydrochlorination are found to be much shorter with RsAl-treated PVC than with virgin samples. It appears as though polyene sequences which arose by zipping- initiation from allylic and/or tertiary chlorine sites are longer than those which form by random initiation along the chain. The autocatalytic (i. e., HC1-catalyzed) dehydrochlorination observed with virgin PVC disappears after treatment with R3A1. The HCl-catalyzed dehydrochlorination is minimized when thin films are used instead of powdery samples, which may be due to higher rates of HC1 diffusion through thin films. Autocatalysis of dehydrochlorination is affected by the concentrations of double bonds and HCl and the length of polyene sequences. Interaction between polyenes and HC1 by hydrogen transfer may lead to the re-initiation of unzipping, thus lengthening the polyene sequences.     

Inverse gas chromatography for the study of one phase and two phase polymer mixtures

Experiment finds that, for a chlorinated polyethylene (chlorine content 62.1% by weight)/poly(ethyl methacrylate) blend, a negative value of χ′_{2 3} is obtained, which indicates compatibility. With increasing temperature, χ′_{2 3} increases towards zero as required by the lower critical solution temperature behaviour of polymer blends. For chlorinated polyethylene/poly(butyl acrylate) blends however the specific retention volume is a linear function of composition and a positive χ′_{2 3} results if calculated by the conventional theory. The magnitude of χ′_{2 3} is determined by the difference between the retention volumes of the pure polymers and decreases with temperature. This effect is assumed to be a result of phase separation during coating the blend onto the support. A theoretical treatment is developed to explain this behaviour.     

Aging effects on fire-retardant additives in polymers

Extensive thermal aging experiments have been conducted on (i) ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) formulations containing various commercial halogenated-hydrocarbon fire-retardant additives together with Sb₂O₃, and (ii) on chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE) formulations with and without added Sb₂O₃. Significant losses of both chlorine and antimony are found on aging, dependent upon the ability of the particular halocarbon to undergo intramolecular dehydrohalogenation. The stoichiometry indicates antimony volatilization as SbCl₃. Arrhenius treatment of the data for the EPR formulation which undergoes the most rapid loss gives an overall activation energy of 34 kcal/mol for antimony volatilization and indicates that fire-retardant loss should become appreciable only at temperatures significantly above ambient (i.e., 70°C). Oxygen index flammability measurements showed moderately increased flammability for certain aged EPR samples, but showed significantly decreased flammability for aged CSPE which was correlated with the loss of other volatile components from the formulation.     

Formation of antimony oxide clusters by gas aggregation

Sb_xO_y clusters are produced by using a gas aggregation technique. Antimony vapor is mixed with He/O₂ or He/N₂O and cooled in a reaction channel. After photoionisation with a KrF (248 nm) or ArF (193 nm) excimer laser the products are mass analyzed in a time of flight mass spectrometer. In the presence of N₂O no oxide clusters besides SbO⁺ can be detected, while with oxygen under similar experimental conditions dramatic changes can be observed. At low oxygen partial pressure the obtained spectra are dominated by the pure Sb _x ⁺ clusters with low intensity of Sb_xO _y ⁺ , whereas at high oxygen partial pressure antimony oxides following the general sequence SbO⁺(Sb₂O₃)n are most abundant. The same stable species can furthermore be produced via aggregation of vaporised solid antimony oxide (Sb₂O₃). Within these experiments another new Series of antimony oxides tentatively assigned to (Sb₂O₃) _n ⁺ appeared in the mass spectra.     

The formation of antimony oxychloride in flame retardant mixtures and its influence on flame retardant efficiency

Interaction of Sb₂O₃ with HCl vapour and chlorine-containing organic flame retardants in the presence and absence of polymers (polypropylene, polyethylene) has been studied at 473–773 K. It has been shown that SbOCl is formed in thermally degrading mixtures in the condensed phase. The influence of SbOCl formation on flame retardant efficiency is discussed.     

Antimony oxide–PVC synergism: Laser pyrolysis studies of the interaction mechanism

Laser-probe pyrolysis is used to investigate the synergistic flame-retardancy effect observed for antimony oxide (Sb₂O₃)–PVC combinations. Molecular beam-mass analysis detection techniques permit direct sampling of the laser-vaporized species without the need for intermediate product collection stages. Laser pyrolysis of a PVC formulation containing 3 phr Sb₂O₃ provides the first direct evidence for the production of volatile SbCl₃ during thermal decomposition. Selective laser irradiation of PVC in the presence of unheated Sb₂O₃ in the sample cell reveals that HCl evolved from the polymer substrate rapidly reacts with Sb₂O₃(s) to form the volatile flame-retardant species SbCl₃. Similar results are observed for SbOCl(s). These reactions are distinct from those previously proposed, which involve the formation and subsequent thermal decomposition of intermediate solid-phase antimony oxychlorides, and demonstrate that the antimony compounds, rather than serving only as inert sources for SbCl₃, readily participate in direct chemical reactions with HCl. In addition to the composition of the reaction products, information is also obtained on their evolution characteristics from the sample cell.     

Miscible blends of amorphous polymers

Thirty-five polymethacrylate/chlorinated polymer blends were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. Poly(ethyl), poly(n-propyl), poly(n-butyl), and poly(n-amyl methacrylate)s were found to be miscible with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), chlorinated PVC, and Saran, but immiscible with a chlorinated polyethylene containing 48% chlorine. Poly(methyl) (PMMA), poly(n-hexyl) (PHMA), and poly(n-lauryl methacrylate)s were found to be immiscible with the same chlorinated polymers, except the PMMA/PVC, PMMA/Saran, and PHMA/Saran blends, which were miscible. A high chlorine content of the chlorinated polymer and an optimum CH₂/COO ratio of the polymethacrylate are required to obtain miscibility. However, poly(methyl), poly(ethyl), poly(n-butyl), and poly(n-octadecyl acrylate)s were found to be immiscible with the same chlorinated polymers, except with Saran, indicating a much greater miscibility of the polymethacrylates with the chlorinated polymers as compared with the polyacrylates.     

Tetrakis­[phthalocyaninato(2–)­antimony(III)] hexadecaiodotetraantimony(III)

Crystals of a new antimony(III) phthalocyanine complex with the formula [Sb(C₃₂H₁₆N₈)]₄(Sb₄I₁₆), or (SbPc)·[Sb₄I₁₆]^4?, where Pc is phthalocyaninate, have been obtained by the reaction of pure powdered antimony with phthalo­nitrile under a stream of iodine vapour. The crystals are built up from separate but interacting (SbPc)⁺ cations and centrosymmetric [Sb₄I₁₆]^4? anions. Each Sb atom of two independent (SbPc)⁺ units is bonded to the four iso­indole N atoms of the phthalocyaninate(2?) macrocycle and lies 1.0 Å out of the plane defined by four iso­indole N atoms. The anionic part of the complex consists of four SbI₆ distorted octahedra joined together into a centrosymmetric [Sb₄I₁₆]^4? anion. The arrangement of oppositely charged moieties in the crystal is mainly determined by ionic attraction and by a set of distinct donor–acceptor interactions between (SbPc)⁺ and [Sb₄I₁₆]^4? ions.     

Etude de la stabilisation du polychlorure de vinyle avec des molecules modeles—II: Action des phosphites et des phosphines sur la degradation du Chloro-4-hexene-2

Phosphines are inhibitors of thermal degradation of 4-chloro-2-hexene because they form strong complexes with either HCl or ZnCl₂, which cause catalysis of the dehydrochlorination. Aliphatic phosphines are more efficient than aromatic phosphines. Aliphatic phosphites also act as stabilizers; they react with HCl, and may be substituted for allylic chlorine in the presence of ZnCl₂ as catalyst; the resulting phosphonate may be destroyed by HCl if phosphite is not in excess. Aromatic phosphites do not react at 60°; they only form a complex with HCl and, in the presence of ZnCl₂, they cause an increase of the dehydrochlorination rate. This effect is due to the reverse reaction, catalysed by a complex HCl-hexadiene, being slowed down because of the competing phosphite-HCl complex.     

Thermal degradation of polymer-fire retardant mixtures—Part II: Mechanism of interaction in polypropylene-chlorinated paraffin mixtures

The thermal degradation of polypropylene is accelerated when it is heated in mixtures with a fire retardant chlorinated paraffin (Cl 70%) whose dehydrochlorination rate is simultaneously reduced.The mechanism proposed to account for this behaviour involves the attack of the chlorine atoms, which propagate the dehydrochlorination reaction, on the tertiary hydrogen atoms of polypropylene with formation of HCl. The kinetic chain length of the dehydrochlorination is decreased and the rate of evolution of HCl is lowered, while the radicals formed on the polypropylene chain lead to its scission and volatilisation.The effects of these reactions on the fire retardant performance of the mixture are discussed.     

Thermooxidative degradation of poly(vinyl chloride) and chlorinated polyethylene with different Ca/Zn carboxylates

The thermooxidative degradation of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) and PVC/CPE blend 50/50 was investigated by means of dynamic and isothermal thermogravimetric analysis in the flowing atmosphere of air. To estimate the thermooxidative stability of the samples the characteristics of thermogravimetric (TG) curves were used. Kinetic parameters (the apparent activation energy E and preexponential factor Z) were calculated after isoconversional method for the first stage of dynamic degradation where dehydrochlorination (DHCl) of PVC and/or CPE is the main degradation reaction. Despite the chemical resemblance, the degradation mechanisms of CPE and PVC are different, as a consequence of differences in microregularity of the corresponding polymer chains. The addition of Ca/Zn carboxylates as well as the ratio of Ca and Zn carboxylates have considerably different influence on the investigated polymers. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The gas enhanced negative ion mass spectra of polychloroanisoles

Methane or a methane–oxygen mixture was used as an enhancement gas to obtain negative ion mass spectra of polychloroanisoles. Dichloroanisoles did not react with oxygen but the more highly chlorinated anisoles did. Compounds with hydrogen ortho to the methoxy group had [M? 1]^? ions, while others gave . The fragment arose through loss of an ortho chlorine and amethyl hydrogen. The loss of HCl followed by oxygen displacement of a remaining ortho or para chlorine produced [M? 55]^? ions; the para position was the preferred site of displacement. Another ion-molecule reaction with oxygen leads to [M? CH₂Cl]^?. The fragmentations resemble those of chlorinated aromatics such as the polychlorodibenzodioxins.     

氯化聚乙烯弹性体的固相法合成

讨论了以固相法合成氯化聚乙烯（ＣＰＥ）弹性体的过程．实验结果表明，以固相氯化反应所得的ＣＰＥ，其大分子链上Ｃｌ取代基的分布比水相悬浮法更均匀．氯化过程的温度直接影响氯化速度及分子结构，如残留结晶、氯分布等．而聚乙烯颗粒表面与内部的氯化程度取决于氯化速度．大分子链上Ｃｌ取代基对邻近基团的氯化起阻碍作用     

ASPECTS OF THERMODYNAMICS OF POLYMER MIXTURES

In this brief review article some aspects of the thermodynamics of polymer mixtures are discussed, mainly based on the author's research. The studies of poly (methyl methacrylate)/chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), poly (butyl acrylate)/CPE and CPE/CPE (different chlorine content) mixture verify the "dissimilarity" and "similarity" principles for predicting miscibility of polymer mixtures. The sign of heat of mixing of oligomeric analogues is not sufficient in predicting the miscibility. The Flory equation of state theory has been applied to simulate the phase boundaries of polymer mixtures. The empirical entropy parameter Q_(12) plays an important role in the calculation, this reduces the usefulness of the theory. With energy parameter X_(12)≠0 and Q_(12)≠0 the spinodals so calculated are reasonable compared to experiments. A hole model was suggested for the statistics of polymer mixtures. The new hole theory combines the features of both the Flory equation of state theory and the Sanchez lattice fluid theory and can be reduced to them under some conditions.     

Dynamic and Isothermal Thermogravimetric Degradation of Poly(vinyl Chloride)/Chlorinated Poly(ethylene) Blends

The thermal degradation of poly(vinyl chloride)/chlorinated poly(ethylene) (PVC/CPE) blends of different compositions was investigated by means of dynamic and isothermal thermogravimetric analysis in flowing atmosphere of nitrogen. Kinetic parameters (the apparent activation energy E, and pre-exponential factor Z) were calculated after Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method for the first stage of dynamic degradation of PVC/CPE blends, and after Flynn method for the isothermal degradation. In both cases, there is the compensation dependence between the values E and logZ. The values of compensation ratios as well as the characteristics of TG and DTG curves, confirm the stabilizing effect of CPE on PVC dehydrochlorination. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Organic hybrid of chlorinated polyethylene and hindered phenol. III. Influence of the molecular weight and chlorine content of the polymer on the viscoelastic properties

The influences of the molecular weight and chlorine content of chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) on the dynamic mechanical propertiesof an organic hybrid consisting of CPE and 3,9‐bis[1,1‐dimethyl‐2{β‐(3‐tert‐butyl‐4‐hydroxy‐5‐methylphenyl)propionyloxy}ethyl]‐2,4,8,10‐tetraoxaspiro[5,5]‐undecane (AO‐80) were investigated. All CPE/AO‐80 hybrids clearly exhibited two kinds of relaxations, and their magnitudes varied according to the molecular weight and chlorine content of CPE. This was due to a change in the ratio of AO‐80 molecules dispersed in the CPE‐rich domain and the AO‐80‐rich domain. A comparison of the jump intensity in differential scanning calorimetry curves with the maximum value of the second tan δ peak demonstrated that the second relaxation was caused by the dissociation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding within the AO‐80‐rich domain. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2943–2953, 2000