The thermal degradation of phosphorylated poly(N-vinylcarbazole) was s
tudied by thermogravimetry. The onset degradation temperature decrease
s with respect to that of unmodified poly(N-vinylcarbazole), indicatin
g a lower thermal stability for the phosphorylated sample. The activat
ion energy values for the degradation process were calculated from the
thermograms by treating it as a kinetic analysis; these values are sm
aller than those for unmodified samples and depend on molecular weight
, phosphorous contents, and heating rate.