Correlation of thermal analysis data and hydrolysis resistance of polycarbonates

The initial activation energy at zero conversionE _o of thermooxidative decomposition has been taken as a measure of thermal stability of polycarbonates (PC) andE _o has been correlated with the relative hydrolysis rater _h as a measure of their hydrolyse resistance. It is suggested that both decomposition processes are initiated by the same mechanism, the attack of hydrolytic agent onto ester C?O bonds. The following values ofE _o have been found: 187 (PC-M)>87 (PC-A)>43 (PC-C) kJ/mol, and they are correlated with values ofr _h being 0.01 (PC-M)<1 (PC-A)<4.4 (PC-C). It has been found, using a computer modeling technique, that bothE _o andr _h depend on the minimized energy of conformations.