| Abstract: | Thermal degradation of some commerically available rubber based on butadiene–styrene copolymers are studies as a function of composition, temperature, and heating periods using photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) technique. It was found that random copolymers are more degradable than block copolymers and that the latter is more degradable than alternate copolymers. Mechanistic schemes leading to the thermal degradation of these synthetic rubbers are given together with a qualitative explanation of the relation between their composition and their thermal stabilites. |
