Thermal Decomposition of Poly(styrene)

摘要

General purpose poly(styrene) is a large volume commodity polymer that finds utility in a range of applications. Most poly(styrene) is produced under conditions that assure termination of polymerization by radical coupling. This introduces a head-to-head link in each polymer chain. This link is thermally labile (strained carbon-carbon bond) and ruptures when the polymer is thermally stressed to form macroradicals which rapidly undergo depolymerization to expel styrene monomer. This mode of decomposition has been established using a range of thermal and spectroscopic methods. Depolymerization may be inhibited by the presence of an effective hydrogen-atom transfer agent.