Thermal Decomposition and Glass Transition Temperature Study of Poly-p-isopropylstyrene

Thermal decomposition and glass transition temperature studies have been carried out on poly-p-isopropylstyrene (PpiPrS) with a differential scanning calorimeter. The un-decomposed polymer as well as its decomposition products were analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). During isothermal treatments in the 25–150°C temperature range (α < 3%), the observed increase in M arose primarily from interchain linking between the longer radical-bearing chains. Beyond 315°C (α > 6%), the molecular weight increases result from crosslinking reactions between decomposed polymer and longer undecomposed chains. During interchain linking, the number of isomethyl groups (iso-CH³) increase. In the crosslinking reactions that take place at temperatures beyond 315°C, the number of iso-CH³ and terminal or α-methyl groups (α-CH³) both increase while the number of methylene groups (CH²) decreases. Activation energies of decomposition for various homologs of polystyrene (PS) obey the following order: E_PS > E_PpiPrS > E_PpiPrαMeS ≥ E_PαMeS. A comparison of the Tg_e values of PS with those of PpiPrS, poly-α-methylstyrene (PαMeS) and poly-p-isopropyl-α- methylstyrene (PpiPrαMeS) shows that the presence of the p-isopropyl groups lowers the T_g of PS as well as that of PaMeS by about 30–35° K.