POLYMER COMPOSITES OF NANO-SIZED PARTICLES ISOLATED IN MATRIX

The kinetic and mechanism of thermal decay of transition metal acrylat es or its cocrystallites are studied. At 200-300 degrees C the rate of thermal decay can be described by first order rate equations. The the rmal transformations of the metal-containing monomers under study invo lve dehydration, solid-phase polymerization and thermolysis processes. The composition of products of the thermal transformations are studie d. The products of the decay are analyzed by optical and electron micr oscopy as well as by magnetic measurements, IX and mass spectroscopy. The main solid-state products of decomposition are nanometer-sized par ticles of metal or ifs oxide and ferrites with a narrow size distribut ion stabilized by the polymeric matrix. The average particle sizes, L- av are 6.013.0nm in the case of FeAcr(3) and 6.0 nm for cocrystallites FeCoAcr and Fe(2)CoAcr. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.