Thermal Degradation of Copolymers of N‐Vinylcarbazole with Acrylic and Methacrylic Monomers

The thermal stability of several series of N‐vinylcarbazole and a methacrylic or acrylic monomer has been studied. The copolymers are more stable the higher the content of N‐vinylcarbazole, a few units of this monomer being capable of appreciably enhancing the thermal stability of the acrylic or methacrylic homopolymer. The degradation products have been analyzed by FTIR, and a degradation mechanism similar to that for the homopolymers has been proposed. The kinetic analysis based on a differential theoretical model, has allowed an estimate of the activation energy of the degradation process.

Keywords:

• thermal stability
• copolymers
• N‐vinylcarbazole
• degradation

Acknowledgements

Authors would like to thank to the Basque Government for finnancial support (Actimat consortium).