Synthesis, characterization, thermal stability, and compatibility properties of poly(vinyl p‐nitrobenzal acetal)‐g‐polyglycidylazides

Abstract

ABSTRACTA series of energetic polymers, poly(vinyl p‐nitrobenzal acetal)‐g‐polyglycidylazides (PVPNB‐g‐GAPs), are obtained via cross‐linking reactions of poly(vinyl p‐nitrobenzal acetal) (PVPNB) with four different molecular weights polyglycidylazides (GAPs) using toluene diisocyanate as cross‐linking agent. The structures of the energetic polymers are characterized by ultraviolet visible spectra (UV‐Vis), attenuated total reflectance‐Fourier transform‐infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FT‐IR), 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (1H NMR), and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (13C NMR). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is applied to evaluate the glass‐transition temperature of the polymers. DSC traces illustrate that PVPNB‐g−2#GAP, PVPNB‐g−3#GAP, and PVPNB‐g−4#GAP have two distinct glass‐transition temperatures, whereas PVPNB‐g−1#GAP has one. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) are used to evaluate the thermal decomposition behavior of the four polymers and their compatibility with the main energetic components of TNT‐based melt‐cast explosives, such as cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX), cyclotrimethylene‐trinitramine (RDX), triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB), and 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (TNT). The DTA and TGA curves obtained indicate that the polymers have excellent resistance to thermal decomposition up to 200°C. PVPNB‐g−4#GAP also exhibits good compatibility and could be safely used with TNT, HMX, and TATB but not with RDX. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42126.