Studies on Reactions of Polypropylene. VIII. The Thermal Degradation of Polypropylene Accelerated by Polyglycidyl Methacrylate

Abstract

Abstract The thermal degradation of polypropylene was investigated in the presence of polyglycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) by the use of an extruder under a nitrogen atmosphere. PGMA was found to be effective as an accelerator for the thermal degradation of polypropylene. The accelerating effect of PGMA was attributed to the facts that PGMA was degraded thermally by the zipper-scission mechanism and that the active radical thus generated was effective in accelerating the thermal degradation of polypropylene by the random-scission mechanism. The surviving ratio of the epoxy group throughout the thermal degradation was not as large as had been expected.