| Abstract: | The degradation arising from purely thermal treatments as well as with accompanying exposure to γ-radiation has been followed under vacuum by visible and ultraviolet spectroscopy in the temperature range from 80° to 130°C. As corroborated by extensive literature reports, absorbance changes have been considered suitable to provide valuable information on the unsaturation sequences produced. In agreement with the results obtained in the same conditions by following the evolution of HCl,1 a catalytic action has been ascribed to HCl depending on the efficiency of removal of HCl. Furthermore, both the purely thermal and radiation-induced uncatalyzed degradations yield length distribution functions that are constant with time and have been found to be accounted for by the previously formulated free-radical mechanism, also from a quantitative point of view. |
