Photocatalytic and Thermal Degradation of Poly(methyl methacrylate), Poly(butyl acrylate), and Their Copolymers

Konaganti, Vinod Kumar and Madras, Giridhar (2009) Photocatalytic and Thermal Degradation of Poly(methyl methacrylate), Poly(butyl acrylate), and Their Copolymers. In: Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 48 (4). pp. 1712-1718.

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Abstract

The photocatalytic and thermal degradations of poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(butyl acrylate), and their copolymers of different compositions were studied. The photocatalytic degradation was investigated in o-dichlorobenzene in the presence of two different catalysts, namely, Degussa P-25 and combustion synthesized nanotitania (CSN-TiO2). The samples were analyzed by using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) to obtain the molecular weight distributions (MWDs) as a function of reaction time. Experimental data indicated that the photodegradation of these polymers occurs by both random and chain end scission. A continuous distribution kinetic model was used to determine the degradation rate coefficients by fitting the experimental data with the model. Both the random and specific rate coefficients of the copolymers decreased with increasing percentage of butyl acrylate (BA). Thermal degradation of the copolymers was investigated by thermo-gravimetry. The normalized weight loss profiles for the copolymers showed that the thermal stability of the copolymers increased with mole percentage of BA in the copolymer (PMMABA). The Czawa method was used to determine the activation energies at different conversions. At low acrylate content in the copolymer, the activation energy depends on conversion, indicating multiple degradation mechanisms. At high acrylate content in the copolymer, the activation energy is independent of conversion, indicating degradation by a one-step mechanism.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
Publisher:	American Chemical Society
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to American Chemical Society.
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Chemical Engineering
Date Deposited:	11 Jun 2010 08:38
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:28
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/19353

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