Degradation of vinylidene chloride/phenylacetylene (VDC/PA) copolymers. Effect of internal unsaturation on poly(vinylidene chloride) stability

Abstract

AbstractThe thermal degradation of vinylidene chloride/phenylacetylene copolymers containing small but varying amounts of phenylacetylene has been examined in both the solid phase and in bibenzyl solution. Incorporation of phenylacetylene into the poly(vinylidene chloride) structure greatly facilitates degradative dehydrochlorination. Indeed, the presence of phenylacetylene promotes the formation of polyene segments during the polymerization process so that all the copolymers, even at very low phenylacetylene loading, are tan in color. The decreased stability of polymers containing interal unsaturation arises from an increased rate of initiation for degradative dehydrochlorination. The propagation rate is largely unaffected by the level of unsaturation initially present in the polymer. The ratio of hydrogen chloride to stilbene formed for degradation of these copolymers in bibenzyl solution is approximately 35:1. This suggests that the chlorine atom of the initially‐formed radical pair preferentially abstracts an adjacent hydrogen atom rather than interacting with solvent, i.e., the chain‐carrying radical pair does not dissociate appreciably as the unzipping dehydrochlorination occurs. Thus random double bonds introduced in a variety of ways may be identified as principal defect sites responsible for the initiation of the degradative dehydrochlorination of poly(vinylidene chloride). Species which promote the degradation of poly(vinylidene chloride) probably do so by facilitating the introduction of random double bonds into the structure.