Dynamic thermogravimetric degradation of gamma radiolytically synthesized Ag–PVA nanocomposites

The degradation kinetics of gamma radiolytically synthesized Ag–PVA nanocomposites was investigated by thermogravimetric method under dynamic conditions (30–600 °C) in an inert atmosphere. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that thermal degradation of composites was a two-stage process for the lower amount of nanofiller and single-stage for the higher amount of nanofiller. The Vyazovkin model-free kinetics method was applied to calculate the activation energy (E_a) of the degradation process as a function of conversion and temperature. At a given degradation temperature, PVA as a host in nanocomposite presents lower reaction velocity, while its E_a is higher than that of pure PVA.