Derivatographic investigations of polycarbonates

Derivatographic non-isothermal investigations of the decomposition of PC in air provide useful information on the characteristic decomposition temperatures and the apparent activation energies of the observed steps of decomposition. The following sequence of apparent activation energies of the pyrolysis step was obtained: PC-M>PC-C>PC-A. The values ofE for PC-M are the highest, due to shielding of the ester linkages by the ortho-methyl substituents.This work was supported by a grant from the National Scientific research Committee.