Thermodegradation of Poly(4-Vinylpyridine-co-Maleic Acid-co-Divinylbenzene) and N-oxide Derivatives: Modeling of TG and DTG Curves

Copolymer networks based on 4-vinylpyridine (4VPy)/maleic acid (MA)/divinylbenzene (DVB) and their N-oxide derivatives have been investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) to evaluate their thermal stability in nitrogen atmosphere at fixed heating rate. Thermal stability was determined from TG curves to investigate the influence of 4VPy content and introduction of N-oxide groups. The TG and DTG curves of unmodified copolymers clearly show one thermodegradation stage and the same kinetic pathway. The decomposition temperatures do not depend on the 4VPy content. The copolymers modified by oxidation present lower thermostability than unmodified showing that the introduction of N-oxide groups modifies their kinetic pathways. A kinetic model Ozawa was used to determine the kinetic parameters. The apparent thermal decomposition activation energies (Δ E _d) of the unmodified copolymer under nitrogen was higher than that in modified copolymer.