Non-isothermal degradation of a thermoset powder coating in inert and oxidant atmospheres

This paper studies the thermal stability of an epoxy powder coating. The study was carried out in a thermobalance at various heating rates and in different atmospheres: nitrogen, air and oxygen. Degradation in air and oxygen leads to a kinetic process which is clearly different from degradation in an inert atmosphere. To characterise each process, the DTG signal peaks were separated and kinetic parameters were associated to each by means of the isoconversional method and other standard methods. The results obtained were compared with the experimental results. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.