Thermal degradation of copolymers of styrene and acrylonitrile. I. Preliminary investigation of changes in molecular weight and the formation of volatile products

By the use of thermal volatilization analysis (TVA), 292°C was chosen as a suitable temperature for a preliminary experimental survey of the thermal degradation of styrene–acrylonitrile copolymers. TVA also indicated that there is no fundamental change in reaction mechanism as the acrylonitrile content of the polymer is increased from zero to 33.4% although there is a progressive increase in the rate of volatilization. The increase in the rate of volatilization over that of polystyrene is directly proportional to the acrylonitrile content of the copolymer. From the changes in molecular weight which occur during the reaction it is clear that the primary effect of the acrylonitrile units on stability is to cause an increased rate of chain scission, but there is a small proportion of “weak links” which are associated with the styrene units and which are broken instantaneously at 292°C. The number of monomer molecules liberated per chain scission, the zip length, is about 40 for polystyrene in the initial stages of degradation and decreases only to the order of 20 even in copolymer containing 24.9% acrylonitrile. Thus the unzipping process is not severely affected by the acrylonitrile units; this is borne out by the fact that acrylonitrile appears among the products in very much greater concentrations than from pure polyacrylonitrile. The proportion of larger chain fragments (dimer, trimer, etc.) also increases with acrylonitrile content.     

Boundary effect on the thermal degradation of copolymers

The mechanism of thermal degradation of vinyl-type copolymers at high temperatures was investigated theoretically and experimentally. A parameter β was proposed to account for the boundary effect. Values of β for acrylonitrile–styrene and methyl methacrylate–styrene copolymers were determined experimentally. It was ascertained that the value of β was independent of the distribution of monomer sequence lengths in a copolymer, but dependent on the pyrolysis temperature and on the nature of the copolymer. The boundary effect is attributed to differences in the dissociation energies of C? C bonds connecting terminal monomer units to adjacent monomer units in copolymer chain radicals.     

Thermal degradation of copolymers of styrene and acrylonitrile. II. Reaction products

Hydrogen cyanide is a minor product of degradation of copolymers of styrene and acrylonitrile. The liquid products have been separated and identified by combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS), as styrene, acrylonitrile, toluene, and benzene. The ratio of styrene to acrylonitrile monomers in the products is approximately twice that of the monomer units in the copolymers, and the ratios of styrene to toluene and benzene are the same as are obtained from pure polystyrene. These ratios were determined by using infrared spectral methods. The fraction of products volatile at the temperature of degradation but involatile at ambient temperature was also analyzed by using GC-MS. A series of four dimers and four trimers were fairly reliably identified. The residual material from copolymers containing up to 33.4% acrylonitrile is always soluble in toluene. The 50/50 copolymer and its residues are insoluble in toluene. Yellow coloration develops in the residues from high acrylonitrile copolymers at advanced stages of degradation. Infrared and ultraviolet spectra suggest that this is due to conjugated unsaturation in the polymer chain backbone which may be associated with the liberation of hydrogen cyanide from the acrylonitrile units.     

Thermal behaviour of binary and ternary copolymers containing acrylonitrile

Three types of acrylonitrile copolymers (acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene copolymer (ABS¹), acrylonitrile-styrene random copolymer (SAN²) and acrylonitrile-butadiene random copolymer (BAN³) were studied by thermogravimetry (TG/DTG⁴) and by pyrolysis in a semi-batch process at 450 °C in order to find structure–thermal behaviour relationships. The overlapped thermo-oxidative degradation processes were separated and the corresponding kinetic parameters were calculated. The TG/DTG studies have evidenced that the styrene-acrylonitrile interactions stabilize the nitrile groups reacting by chain scission rather than cyclization and destabilize the styrene units. Also, the cyclization of the acrylonitrile units in ABS is favoured by interactions with the styrene and butadiene units. The pyrolysis behaviour evidenced that the styrene-acrylonitrile interactions in SAN and ABS lead to the formation of 4-phenylbutyronitrile as the most important decomposition compound. ABS shows similar composition of the degradation oil with SAN copolymer therefore in the ABS the styrene-butadiene interactions are less important than those between styrene and acrylonitrile units.     

Copolymerisation radiochimique du styrene avec l'acrylonitrile en solution

The radiation-initiated copolymerization of styrene and acrylonitrile was investigated at 20° in dimethylformamide (DMF) and in benzylalcohol solutions. The compositions of the copolymers were only slightly affected by these polar solvents. The influence of temperature on the copolymerization in DMF solutions was studied in greater detail. It was found that the acrylonitrile content in the copolymer obtained at -78° drastically increased as a result of an anionic polymerization of acrylonitrile. Fractional precipitation of the products obtained at -78° showed that they were not mixtures of polymers but were block copolymers containing long sequences of acrylonitrile units. This copolymer is assumed to arise as a result of the simultaneous growing of the two ends of a primary radical-ion, acrylonitrile adding to one end by an anionic mechanism while the free radical end initiates a random copolymerization of styrene and acrylonitrile. The anionic contribution to the over-all process was established. The anionic homopolymerization of acrylonitrile was studied in DMF, toluene and their mixtures. The rate was found to exhibit a maximum for 20% acrylonitrile in DMF. It was further noticed that significant amounts of DMF could be replaced by toluene or styrene without affecting the rate. The reduction in rate in more concentrated monomer solutions was attributed to an autoinhibition of acrylonitrile in its anionic polymerization.     

Donor-Acceptor Complexes in Copolymerization. LIX. Alternating Diene-Dienophile Copolymers. 13. Copolymerization of Dicyclopentadiene and Maleic Anhydride

The solution and bulk copolymerization of dicyclopentadiene (DCP) and maleic anhydride (MAH) occurs over the temperature range 80–240°C, upon the addition of a free-radical catalyst which has a short half-life at the reaction temperature. An unsaturated 1/1 MAH/DCP copolymer, derived from the copolymerization of MAH with the norbornene double bond, followed by a Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement, is obtained in the presence of a large excess of DCP at 80° C, while a saturated 2/1 MAH/ DCP copolymer, derived from the cyclocopolymerization of the residual cyclopentene unsaturation, is obtained at higher temperatures or in the presence of excess MAH. The copolymers prepared under other conditions with intermediate MAH/DCP mole ratios contain both 1/1 and 2/1 repeating units. The copolymer obtained from bulk copolymerization above 170° C contains units derived from cyclopentadiene-MAH cyclocopolymerization as well as DCP-MAH copolymerization.     

Characterization of styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer by pyrolysis gas chromatography

Samples of styrene–acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymer of different compositions, molecular weights, block copolymers, and a blend of styrene and acrylonitrile homopolymers were prepared and characterized by the method of pyrolysis gas chromatography. On decomposition of SAN copolymer samples at 645°C, eleven components were identified, the most important of them being styrene, acrylonitrile, and propionitrile. By examination of the pyrolyzate composition during pyrolysis of the SAN copolymer of different compositions, it was established that the propionitrile yield was definitely decreased when the acrylonitrile concentration in copolymer was about 60 mole-%. Further, from the propionitrile yield, we could distinguish random SAN copolymer from the styrene-acrylonitrile homopolymer blend, and on the basis of propionitrile yield some information on the molecular structure of the copolymer could be obtained. The styrene yield depends linearly on the copolymer composition. This permits determination of copolymer composition on the basis of the styrene yield. Furthermore, the effects of decomposition temperature and of molecular weight on the yields of styrene and acrylonitrile were examined.     

Thermal properties of some hydrogenated poly(α-methyl styrenes)

The Synthesis of poly(isopropenyl cyclohexane) via the hydrogenation of poly(α-methyl styrene) is described. Depending on the reaction time and catalyst system a homopolymer or a copolymer is obtained. Under the conditions of synthesis both materials are highly syndiotactic. For the pure hydrogenated homopolymer (>99.9%) the glass transition temperature was found to be 185.4°C, about 20°C above T_g of poly(α-ethyl styrene). Contrary to expectations, the glass transitions of the 92/8, 33/67 poly(isopropenyl cyclohexane-co-methyl styrene) and poly(α-methyl styrene) are almost identical, as are the decomposition temperature ranges. Thermal data indicate that the decomposition mechanism of the copolymers and hydrogenated homopolymer is random scission. The thermogravimetric curves also indicate that the copolymers are random. Thus, chain stiffness appears not to increase rapidly with hydrogenation of this highly syndiotactic polymer.     

Newtonian behavior of a styrene–butadiene–styrene block copolymer

The melt rheological behavior of an anionically polymerized styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) block copolymer sample (S: 7 × 10³ and B: 43 × 10³) was studied using a Weissenberg rheogoniometer. Highly non-Newtonian behavior, high viscosity and high elasticity, which are characteristics of ABA type block copolymers, were observed at 125°C, 140°C, and 150°C. The data at these temperatures superimposed well onto a master curve giving a constant flow activation energy. However, the data at 175°C indicated a marked change in the flow mechanism between 150°C and 175°C. At 175°C, the sample showed Newtonian behavior, negligible elasticity, and deviation from the master curve. These findings may be considered as an indication that the SBS block copolymer sample undergoes a structural change from a multiphase structure at low temperatures into a homogeneous structure at some temperature between 150°C and 175°C.     

Thermal decomposition of copolymers of styrene and halogenated monomers

Copolymers of 1,2,2,2-tetrachloroethyl esters of unsaturated acids and halogenated N-phenyl maleimides with styrene were pyrolyzed; volatile products were analyzed with a mass spectrometer combined with a gas chromatograph. Hydrogen halide and carbon dioxide in the volatile products were determined during the thermal decomposition of copolymers in glass ampoules; the acyl chloride groups were determined in the residues. The thermal decomposition of copolymers of tetrachloroethyl esters with styrene sets in at ca. 230° by the release of chloral from the copolymer and splitting of some of the CCl bonds in the copolymer. The decomposition of copolymers of styrene with halogenated N-phenyl maleimides starts above 300° by depolymerization of the polystyrene chain sections and by splitting of some of the carbon-halogen bonds. At 310 and 500° for copolymers of tetrachloroethyl esters and at 500° for halogenated N-phenyl maleimides, there is radical dehydrohalogenation of the copolymers, with depolymerization of polystyrene blocks and splitting of carbon-carbon bonds in the main chain.     

Fractionation of styrene–acrylonitrile copolymers

Three types of commercial styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer were fractionated by coacervate extraction and by column-elution techniques. Both methods were studied with two different solvent–nonsolvent pairs. Glass wool was used as the support material in the column. Fractionation by the coacervate extraction method was studied with benzene–triethylene glycol as a solvent–nonsolvent system at 60°C and with dichloromethane–triethylene glycol at 25°C. Column elution was carried out with acetone–methanol as the solvent–nonsolvent system at 30°C, and with dichloromethane–methanol at 20°C. Results of excellent reproducibility were obtained by these two methods. Characterization of fractions involved determination of both the molecular weight and chemical composition. It was established that the fractionation of the samples tested was dependent upon molecular weight only. The two methods described above are compared. Each gives an efficient procedure for fractionation of styrene–acrylonitrile copolymers.     

Radiation Degradation of Copolymers. III. Poly(styrene-co-methyl Acrylate)

The distribution of volatile products from γ-irradiation of copolymers of styrene and methyl acrylate is independent of the composition of the copolymer and the same as that obtained from poly(methyl acrylate). The yields are less than proportional to the methyl acrylate content, Indicating a protective effect from the styrene units as observed previously in copolymers of styrene with methyl methacrylate. The flexural strengths of the copolymers, measured at 1°C, decrease with radiation dose for high styrene content, but increase for high methyl acrylate content. Samples irradiated in air have appreciably lower strengths than those irradiated in vacuum. Gel measurements show intermediate behavior for the copolymers between the homopolymers.     

Polymerization of coordinated monomers. III. Copolymerization of acrylonitrile–zinc chloride,methacrylonitrile–zinc chloride or methyl methacrylate–zinc chloride complex with styrene

The 1:1 or 2:1 complex of acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, or methyl methacrylate with ZnCl₂ was copolymerized with styrene at the temperature of 0–30°C without any initiator. The structure of the copolymer from methyl methacrylate complex and styrene was examined by NMR spectroscopy. The complexes of acrylonitrile or methacrylonitrile with ZnCl₂ gave a copolymer containing about 50 mole-% styrene units. The complexes of methyl methacrylate yielded an alternating copolymer when the feed molar ratio of methyl methacrylate to styrene was small, but with increasing feed molar ratio the resulting copolymer consisted of about 2 moles of methyl methacrylate per mole of styrene. The formation of a charge-transfer complex of styrene with a monomer coordinated to zinc atom was inferred from the ultraviolet spectra. The regulation of the copolymerization was considered to be effected by the charge-transfer complex. The copolymer resulting from the 2:1 methyl methacrylate–zinc chloride complex had no specific tacticity, whereas the copolymer from the 1:1 complex was richer in coisotacticity than in cosyndiotacticity. The change of the composition of the copolymer and its specific tacticity in the polymerization of the methyl methacrylate complex is related to the structure of the complex.     

Structure of ethylene–chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymers

The structures of copolymers of ethylene and chlorotrifluoroethylene have been studied by infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and x-ray diffraction techniques. Copolymers varying in ethylene composition from 80 to 50 mole-% were prepared at a number of different temperatures with a peroxide catalyst system. Compositions of 50/50 mole ratio were found to be semicrystalline and to have melting points as high as 241°C. These materials were found to be copolymers with a high degree of one-to-one alternation. They were similar in structure to 1:1 copolymers which had been reported previously by other workers who used a triethylboron catalyst system. The x-ray evidence indicated that the copolymers prepared with the peroxide catalysts were not stereoregular. A hexagonal unit cell with a theoretical density of 1.70 g/cc was determined for the alternating one-to-one copolymer by x-ray techniques. A value of 262°C was determined for the melting point of the theoretical 100% alternating one-to-one copolymer. Values of ΔH_? = 4500 cal/mole and ΔS_? = 8.4 cal/deg-mole were also calculated for the alternating 1:1 copolymer. The preferred conformation of the material appears to be a “kinked” structure with the crystalline phase having ethylene units in one chain lining up opposite chlorotrifluoroethylene units in the adjacent chain. Polar association which can occur between fluorine and hydrogen atoms in this arrangement may account in part for the relatively high melting point of the alternating one-to-one copolymers.     

Dynamic mechanical behaviour of styrene/butadiene copolymers and their blends

The dynamic mechanical behaviour of high impact polystyrene (PS-HI), styrene/butadiene/styrene block copolymer (SBS) and PS-HI + SBS blends were investigated. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was performed in the temperature range −100°C to 100°C. The primary viscoelastic functions were determined. The copolymers PS-HI and SBS as well as PS-HI+SBS blends were investigated in creep-fatigue regime and relaxation at temperatures 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45°C. Dynamic mechanical behavior of PS-HI, SBS and PS-HI + SBS blends depends on the copolymer and blends composition, the hard phase content, time and temperature. With the decrement of the hard phase PS concentration, the loss tangent of the soft phase increases while the loss tangent of the hard phase and the storage modulus decrease. All samples have a single T_g of the hard phase and a single T_g of the soft phase. The glass transition temperatures decrease as the content of the PS phase decreases. At the constant load the creep values increase and those of creep modulus decrease over a period of time, for all examined samples. These effects are more pronounced in samples with lower content of hard phase and at higher temperatures. The time-temperature correspondence principle was applied to create master curves for the reference temperature 25°C for the creep modulus of PS-HI, SBS and PS-HI + SBS blends on a time scale far outside of the range measured by DMA experiments. These results enable us to predict the useful life of our copolymers and their blends in a wide range of time and temperature.     

Incorporation of POSS to improve thermal stability of bio-based polymethacrylates by nitroxide-mediated polymerization: Polymerization kinetics and characterization

Nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP) was used to polymerize methacrylate-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane, POSSMA, in a controlled manner with bio-based C13 methacrylate (C13MA) to improve the thermal stability of the latter by copolymerization (using 10 mol% acrylonitrile controlling comonomer). Kinetic experiments (80–110 °C) revealed the relatively low ceiling temperature of POSSMA (135 °C). Synthesis of poly(POSSMA-co-AN) with f _AN,0 = 0.10 at 90 °C resulted in low dispersity (1.16) and relatively high conversion (~50%) after 3 hr in 50 wt% toluene. Assuming binary statistical copolymerizations, POSSMA was slightly less reactive than C13MA toward the propagating species (r _POSSMA = 0.91 ± 0.07 and r _C13MA = 1.94 ± 0.13). Incorporating POSSMA up to 68 mol% improved decomposition temperature of C13MA-based copolymers from 190 to 262 °C. Chain end fidelity of POSSMA-rich compositions was confirmed by subsequent chain extensions to make block and gradient copolymers. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed multiple transition temperatures in block copolymers, suggesting microphase separation. Powder X-ray diffraction confirmed crystalline domains ~30 nm in POSSMA-rich statistical copolymers while transmission electron microscopy revealed weakly ordered lamellar morphology for poly(C13MA-co-AN)-b-(POSSMA-co-AN) block copolymer at a smaller length scale. Oscillatory shear measurements of block copolymers indicated primarily viscous character below 200 s⁻¹ but crossover above this frequency, indicating POSS–POSS interactions were increasing the elasticity of the block copolymers.     

Mechanical properties of gradient copolymers of styrene and n‐butyl acrylate

The mechanical properties of linear and V‐shaped compositional gradient copolymer of styrene and n‐butyl acrylate with composition of around 55 wt % styrene were investigated by comparing with their block copolymer counterparts. Compared with their block copolymer counterparts, the gradient copolymers showed lower elastic modulus, much larger elongation at break, and similar ultimate tensile strength at room temperature. This performance could be ascribed to that the local moduli continuously change from the hardest nanodomains to the softest nanodomains in the gradient copolymer, which alleviates the stress concentration during tensile test. Compared with the V‐shaped gradient (VG) copolymer, the linear gradient copolymer showed much higher elastic modulus but lower elongation at break. The mechanical properties of the gradient copolymers were more sensitive to the change in temperature from 9 °C to 75 °C. With recovery temperature increased from 10 °C to 60 °C, the strain recovery of VG copolymer would change steadily from 40% to 99%. However, the elastic recovery of linear and triblock copolymer was poor even at 60 °C. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 860–868     

MONOMER REACTIVITY RATIO AND THERMAL PERFORMANCE OFα-METHYL STYRENE AND GLYCIDYL METHACRYLATE COPOLYMERS

<正>Synthesis and characterization of the copolymers(PAG) ofα-methyl styrene(AMS) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) are presented.The copolymers of PAG were characterized by gel permeation chromatography(GPC),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),nuclear magnetic resonance(~1H-NMR) and thermogravimetery(TG).Based on the copolymer compositions determined by ~1H-NMR,the reactivity ratios of AMS and GMA were found to be 0.105±0.012 and 0.883±0.046 respectively by Kelen-Tüds method.TG revealed that thermal stability of the copolymers decreased with increasing the AMS content in the copolymers,which indicated that the degradation was mainly caused by the chain scission of AMS-containing structures.Under heating,the copolymers depolymerize at their weak bonds and form chain radicals, which could further initiate other chemical reactions.     

High-Pressure phase behavior of mixtures of poly(ethylene-co-methyl acrylate) with low-molecular weight hydrocarbons

Cloud-point data to 180°C and 2,800 bar are presented for three poly(ethylene-co-methyl acrylate) copolymers [10, 31, and 41 mol % methyl acrylate (MA)] and for polyethylene in ethylene, ethane, propylene, and propane. At low concentrations of MA in the backbone of the copolymer, the saturated hydrocarbons are better solvents for the copolymer than their olefinic analogs because polarizability drives the phase behavior. For the higher MA-content copolymers, which have more polar repeat units, the unsaturated hydrocarbons are better solvents owing to favorable quadrupolar interactions between the solvent and the polymer segments. The cloud-point curves of the high MA-content copolymers in the unsaturated hydrocarbons are shifted to very high temperatures to overcome strong acrylate-acrylate interactions in the polymer. In fact, the 41 mol % MA copolymer cannot be dissolved in propane at temperatures to 180°C and pressures to 2,800 bar even though the copolymer is predominantly ethylene, while the same copolymer dissolves in propylene at 40°C and at pressures as low as 1,400 bar. Although the Sanchez-Lacombe equation of state is used to model the cloud-point curves, two temperature-dependent mixture parameters are needed for a good fit of the data. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Structure and stability of halogenated polymers: Part 1—Ring-chlorinated polystyrene

Ring-chlorinated polystyrene has been prepared by reaction between polymer and chlorine at −20°C in the presence of iodine, using a 1·2:1 molar ratio of chlorine to styrene units. Although the product has a composition corresponding precisely to 1 Cl atom per styrene unit and the predominant site of chlorination is the para position in the aromatic ring, some ortho chlorination, backbone chlorination and unchlorinated structures have been shown to be present by characterisation spectroscopically and from degradation experiments.The chlorinated polymer loses the backbone chlorine readily as HCl at temperatures from 200°C. The resulting unsaturation in the backbone appears to destabilise the polymer towards chain scission and the main breakdown process, which resembles that of polystyrene in consisting of depolymerisation and transfer reactions, occurs over a wider temperature range and at lower temperatures than the decomposition of polystyrene. Products have been identified and estimated quantitatively.