Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, Vol.37, No.23, 4309-4317, 1999
Kinetics of weight loss and chain scission in the thermooxidative degradation of poly[1-(trimethylsilyl)-1-propyne] films
The kinetic model of thermooxidative degradation in air, proposed to be valid for poly(2-hexyne) in predicting the lifetime of substituted polyacetylenes, was applied to poly[1-(trimethylsilyl)-1-propyne] films, with the differences in the oxidative behavior of both polyacetylenes noted. The effect of the molecular weight of the sample on the degradation process was analyzed. Kinetics of weight loss and chain scission were modeled, and the kinetic parameters were calculated. Also, the evolution of weight loss was related to the chain scission. The proposed model was validated with data reported in the literature.