THERMAL-DEGRADATION OF ALIPHATIC-AROMATIC POLYAMIDES - KINETICS OF N,N'-DIHEXYLISOPHTHALAMIDE NEAT AND IN PRESENCE OF COPPER IODIDE

An experimental study to determine the effect of copper (I) iodide (Cu I) on the rate and product distribution of degradation of a model of a n aliphatic-aromatic polyamide was carried out. N,N-Dihexylisophthalam ide (DHI) was reacted in both an inert argon atmosphere and a pure oxy gen environment at 350 degrees C with CuI added in amounts ranging fro m 0 to 20% by weight. The rate of disappearance of DHI was enhanced by an order of magnitude when 0.5% by weight of CuI was added and was an increasing function of increasing CuI loading. Reaction in pure O-2 i ncreased the rate of DHI degradation by two orders of magnitude over t hat for neat DHI pyrolysis. The rate of disappearance of DHI in O-2 wa s relatively unchanged when 5% CuI by weight was added. The transforma tions of DHI and its products are organized in terms of a set of react ion rules. This ''reaction operator'' formalism allowed computer gener ation of the reaction network and facilitated estimation of kinetic pa rameters. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.