THE THERMAL-DECOMPOSITION OF POLY[ALKYL-4,4'-(TEREPHTHALOYLDIOXY)DIBENZOATE]S

The thermal degradation of six poly[alkyl-4,4'(terephthaloyldioxy)dibe nzoate]s, with linear (3, 6, 7 and 10) and branched (dimethyl and diet hyl) methylene spacers, was studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The kinetics and activation energies for the degradation process were cal culated from the dynamic thermograms using integral and differential m ethods, and compared with data obtained by applying the Arrhenius trea tment under isothermal conditions. The degraded products were analysed by Fourier transform i.r. spectroscopy. Preliminary observations seem to indicate that the degradation proceeds via a mechanism similar to that previously observed for other polyesters derived from terephthali c acid.