Evolution of the structures and sorption properties of dehydrochlorinated chloropolymers during their thermal conversions

A microporous carbon material can be obtained by dehydrochlorination of the polymeric formulation poly(vinyl chloride)-poly(vinylidene chloride) in the presence of KOH followed by thermal treatment at a relatively low temperature (350°C in a nitrogen-oxygen gas mixture (10: 1 w/w)). This is because the chemical dehydrochlorination gives highly reactive chloro-containing polyconjugate systems. The conversion of chloropolyene systems into carbon structures is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and TGA with MS analysis of volatile pyrolysis products. The resulting carbon material has a system of pores including ultramicropores 6.5 ± 0.5 Å), micropores (16 ± 1 Å), and mesopores (average pore size 150 ± 7 Å).