| Abstract: | In this work, characterization of a homopolymer of succinic acid bis(4‐pyrrol‐1‐ylphenyl) ester prepared by galvonastatic polymerization was carried out by direct pyrolysis mass spectrometry. Although decomposition of the monomer yielding mainly butadionic acid and pyrrole occurred under the galvonastatic polymerization conditions, growth of the polymer through the pyrrole moieties was also achieved, yielding a ladder‐type polymer film. The polypyrrole chains contained both quinoid and aromatic units as in the case of polypyrrole, yet the extent of network structure was significantly diminished. A three‐step mechanism is proposed for the thermal decomposition process. The first step involves the cleavage of C4H4NC6H4O end groups. In the second step, decomposition of phenyl ester units and polypyrrole chains having quinoid structure takes place. The final stage of thermal degradation was attributed to decomposition of polypyrrole chains having aromatic structure. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry |
