Thermal Decomposition of Chloromethylated Poly(styrene)-PAN Resin and Its Complexes with Some Transition Metal Ions

The complexes formed by the chemically modified chloromethylated poly(styrene)-PAN (CMPS-PAN) as a resin chelating ion exchanger were characterized by infrared and potentiometry. The thermal degradation of pure CMPS-PAN resin and its complexes with Au³⁺, Cr³⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺ and Pt⁴⁺ in air atmosphere has been studied using thermal gravimetry (TG) and derivative thermal gravimetry (DTG). The results showed that four different steps accompany the decomposition of CMPS-PAN resin and its complexes with the metal ions. These stages were affected by the presence of the investigated metal ions. The thermal degradation of CMPS-PAN resin in the presence of the ions showed different stability of the resin in the following decreasing order: Au³⁺>Pt⁴⁺>Mn²⁺>Cu²⁺>Cr³⁺>Fe³⁺. On the basis of the applicability of a non-isothermal kinetic equation, the decomposition process was a first-order reaction. The activation energy, Ea, the entropy change, ΔS ^*, the enthalpy change, ΔH ^* and the Gibbs free energy of activation, ΔG ^* were calculated by applying the theory of the reaction rates. The effect of the different central metal ions on the calculated thermodynamic activation parameters was discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.