Degradation kinetics for polymer mixtures in solution

The degradation rate of a polymer mixture depends on the particular polymer mixture, and the presence of a second polymer can increase, decrease, or n ot affect the degradation rate of the first polymer. The degradation rates of poly(vinyl acetate) in both the presence and absence of polystyrene at v arious temperatures (220-250 degreesC) were experimentally determined. The molecular weight distributions of the polymers were obtained by analyzing t he samples by gel permeation chromatography. Continuous distribution kineti cs were employed for determining the degradation rates of binary polymer mi xtures. The results indicated that, because of the interaction of mixed rad icals with polymer by hydrogen abstraction, the degradation rates of poly(v inyl acetate) are considerably enhanced in the presence of polystyrene, whi le the degradation rate of polystyrene decreases.