A kinetic study of the thermal and oxidative degradations of a new poly(arylene)ether copolymer

The degradation of a new thermoplastic poly(arylene)ether copolymer was car ried out in both dynamic and isothermal heating conditions, under nitrogen flow and in a static air atmosphere. The measurements showed that the copol ymer degraded through two stages in both investigated environments with the formation of a stable residue in N-2 and complete mass loss in air. The ap parent activation energy values associated with the degradation processes w ere evaluated. The obtained results suggested different degradation mechani sms between N-2 and air. Results were discussed and compared with those obt ained for several polymers previously investigated.