Polymer thermal oxidation, reaction scheme

F. Gugumus [21] provides an alternative view of the thermal oxidation reactions in polymers. Various possibilities arising from inter- and intramolecular reactions between hydroperoxide groups, peroxy radicals, and alkoxy radicals are postulated. The author underlines the plausible over-estimation of degradation attributed to -scissions in polypropylene (PP) and offers alternative (non (3-scission) routes that result in formation of 1,2-dioxetane which can account for auto-oxidation, chain scissions and enhanced chemiluminescence of PP oxidation products. An illustration of this proposed scheme is provided in Scheme 6.4. 

The processing of polymers should occur with dry materials and with control of the atmosphere so that oxidative reactions may be either avoided, to maintain the polymer s molar mass, or exploited to maximize scission events (in order to raise the melt-flow index). The previous sections have considered the oxidative degradation of polymers and its control in some detail. What has not been considered are reactions during processing that do not involve oxidation but may lead to scission of the polymer chain. Examples include the thermal scission of aliphatic esters by an intramolecular abstraction (Scheme 1.51) (Billingham et al., 1987) and acid- or base- catalysed hydrolysis of polymers such as polyesters and polyamides (Scheirs, 2000). If a polymer is not dry, the evolution of steam at the processing temperature can lead to physical defects such as voids. However, there can also be chemical changes such as hydrolysis that can occur under these conditions. 

Polymer (RH) oxidation, irrespective of the precise initiation process, can be expressed largely in terms of the classical, thermal oxidation scheme (reactions 1-3) (9). In the case of PP, tert.-... 

Hydroperoxides decompose relatively slowly at ambient temperatures in the dark, but in light they are readily photolysed to free radicals, (Scheme 1.1, reaction d). Consequently, the rate of photo-oxidation of the hydrocarbon polymers is orders of magnitude higher than thermal oxidation. In addition, small amounts of transition metal compounds, notably iron, cobalt, manganese and copper, have a powerful catalytic effect on radical formation from hydroperoxides [14], leading to rapid molecular weight reduction by breakdown of the intermediate alkoxyl radical and the formation of carboxylic acids and esters as oxidation end products (see Scheme 1.2) [15]. 

Reaction with ambient oxygen termed auto-oxidation also causes changes in the chemical structure and properties of polymers. A generic mechanism for auto-oxidation as a thermal oxidation is provided in Scheme 6.1. Extensive discussions of variations in mechanisms of thermal oxidation are discussed in the sections to follow. 

The study of degradation processes of polymers and organic materials is a fundamental topic both from academic and industrial point of view and it can be expected that thermal and thermo-oxidative decomposition mechanisms are reasonably well established. [20,3 8] These complex reactions proceed via a typical free-radical chain as outlined in scheme 2. 

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