Chemiluminescence and thermo-oxidation stability of poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phenylene ether) in blends with polystyrene and polybutadiene

It has been ascertained that chemiluminescence-time curves for samples of poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phenylene ether) blended with high-impact polystyrene containing polybutadiene yield a very reproducible pattern even at a temperature of 190°C. The chemiluminescence light emission has been associated with consumption of double bonds in polybutadiene, and a corresponding rate constant and activation energies of chemiluminescence decay from both the isothermal and nonisothermal parts of chemiluminescence-time curves have been determined. As demonstrated by these curves, an attempt, to stabilize the blends toward thermooxidation by the peroxide decomposer and stabilizer led to retardation of the oxidation process only and further investigation searching for an optimum stabilizing system is required. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.