Thermal degradation of poly {[4-(t-butoxycarbonyloxy)phenyl]methyl acrylate}

Comonomers contraining the phenyl t-butyl carbonate moiety have previously been incorporated into acid-producing polymers to act as traps for acid evo lved and thereby lend stability to the polymer. To better understand the th ermal fragmentation of such materials, a homopolymer, poly([4-(t-butyoxycar bonyloxy)phenyl]merthyl acrylate)(PBPMA), has been prepared, fully characte rized, and subjected to examination by thermogravimetry (TGA). In the main, this polymer undergoes multistep degradation to evolve isobutylene and car bon dioxide, to extrude a quinoid aryl fragment and to form a residue of po ly(acrylic acid) which may degrade further with the evolution of water, car bon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.