THERMAL-DEGRADATION OF POLY(4-N-ALKYLSTYR ENES)

Thermal degradation of a series of poly(4-n-alkylstyrenes) and related monomers in the temperature interval 400-600 degrees C was studied by pyrolytic gas chromatography. The main thermal reaction in the polyme rs consists in depolymerization with kinetics depending on the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl substituent. The thermal degradation of e ven-numbered homologs of the series yields a greater amount of monomer s as compared to the odd ones. The data obtained allow the mechanism o f thermal transformations of poly(4-n-alkylstyrenes) to be refined.