Characterization of co- and terpolymers of carbon monoxide and olefins by pyrolysis-gas chromatography

Abstract

Pyrolysis-gas chromatography of alternating carbon monoxide-olefin co- and terpolymers was studied. Ethylene (E) and/or propylene (P)carbon monoxide (CO) co- and terpolymers (ECO, PCO and EPCO, respectively) and ethylene-styrene (S)carbon monoxide terpolymers (ESCO) were prepared by palladium catalyst and pyrolyzed at 550 °C for 10 s. Various linear ketones, cyclic compounds and ketoesters were identified among the degradation products of ECO. The product distribution supports the hypothesis that chain scissions and cyclization reactions take place at the same time in the thermal degradation of this copolymer. The pyrolyzed products of the PCO copolymer are explained as the methyl derivatives of the corresponding products of the ECO copolymer. The products of the ethylene-based terpolymers are divided into three categories; that is, those formed from ECO/ECO, ECO/P(S)CO and P(S)CO/P(S)CO dyads. The EPCO1 sample, which contained 31% of PCO unit, gave the pyrolyzed products from the PCO/PCO dyad in a very small amount. The ESCO terpolymers showed somewhat different degradation behavior from that of styrene–carbon monoxide copolymer.