Thermal decomposition of copolymers of methyl methacrylate and alkyl methacrylates obtained from a CSTR

Abstract

Thermal decomposition of the copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with ethyl methacrylate (EMA) or n-butyl methacrylate (BMA) were investigated. The copolymers were obtained in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) using toluene and benzoyl peroxide, as solvent and initiator, respectively, at 80C. The volume was 1.2 litters and residence time was 3 hours. The thermal decomposition followed the second order kinetics for both MMA/EMA and MMA/BMA copolymers, which were almost in accordance with the order of copolymerization in a CSTR. The activation energies of thermal decomposition were in the ranges of 32-37 kcal/mol and 27-37 kcal/mole for MMA/EMA and MMA/BMA copolymers, respectively and a good additivity rule was observed against each composition for both copolymers. The thermogravimetric trace curve agreed well with the theoretical calculation.