THERMOLYSIS AND OXIDATION OF CRYSTALLINE POLYVINYLENES

The stability of polyvinylenes, prepared by dehydrochlorination of PVC under conditions of phase-transfer catalysis, towards high temperatur es and oxidants (oxygen, air, and ozone) was studied. The stability to wards these factors is determined by supermolecular structure of the p olyvinylenes. The samples of high density (1.30 - 1.35 g/cm3) are not oxidized by air oxygen and weakly oxidized by ozone, and are dehydroge nated at higher temperatures than low-density (1.15 - 1.20 g/cm3) prod ucts. The different stabilities of the samples are determined by the d egree of ordering of their structure.