Thermal Degradation of Polystyrene, Poly(1,4-butadiene) and Copolymers of Styrene and 1,4-butadiene Irradiated Under Air or Argon with 60Co-γ-rays

Authors

W. Schnabel, Bereich Physikalische Chemie
Galina F. Levchik, Belorussian State University
Charles Wilkie, Marquette UniversityFollow
David D. Jiang, Marquette UniversityFollow
Sergei V. Levchik, Belorussian State University

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

5-1999

Publisher

Elsevier

Source Publication

Polymer Degradation and Stability

Source ISSN

0141-3910

Abstract

⁶⁰Co-γ-irradiated samples of polystyrene (PSt), poly(1,4-butadiene), (PBD), and two poly(styrene-co-butadiene)s containing 25 and 75% BD were subjected to thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), in the presence and absence of O₂. In the case of PSt the irradiation caused a significant shift in T_onset, the onset temperature for mass loss, to higher temperatures, whereas in the cases of the BD-containing polymers irradiation caused a decrease in T_onset (oxic irradiation) or had little or no effect on T_onset (anoxic irradiation). The amount of non-volatile residue formed in the cases of BD-containing polymers was augmented by γ-irradiation. The improved thermal stability of PSt is attributed to radiation-generated unsaturations acting as depolymerization retardants and/or agents in thermal crosslinking. Radiation-induced crosslinks do not affect the thermal behavior of PSt. In the cases of BD-containing polymers the thermal behavior is predominated by reactions of the carbon–carbon double bonds (crosslinking and cyclization). Radiation-induced chemical alterations, therefore, play a minor role during the thermal decomposition.

Comments

Accepted version. Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 63, No. 3 (March 1999): 365-375. DOI. © 1999 Elsevier B.V. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Schnabel, W.; Levchik, Galina F.; Wilkie, Charles; Jiang, David D.; and Levchik, Sergei V., "Thermal Degradation of Polystyrene, Poly(1,4-butadiene) and Copolymers of Styrene and 1,4-butadiene Irradiated Under Air or Argon with 60Co-γ-rays" (1999). Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications. 749.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/chem_fac/749