Thermal investigation of silicone rubber containing imide-siloxane copolymers

Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and isothermal thermogravimetry yield useful information on the temperature dependence of the mechanical properties and thermal stability of silicone rubbers. In the thermal mechanical relaxation spectra, only one characteristic phenomenon may be observed. Isothermal thermogravimetry reveals that the thermal degradation is a first-order reaction. The experimental results provide a possibility for the calculation of overall (apparent) reaction rate constants characteristic of the thermal decomposition process, and for the calculation of half-time values.