Thermal stability and degradation mechanism of C60 fullerene-based polymers

In this paper, the thermal stability and degradation mechanisms of C-60 fullerene-based polymers, obtained by click polymerization between dialkyne-substituted C-60 derivative monomers and 1,3,5-tris(dodecyloxy)benzene-based diazide comonomers, were evaluated. The activation energy of the fullerene polymer C(60)P2 with an ethylene spacer, determined under peak degradation rate conditions, was lower than that of the counter polymer C(60)P1 with a methylene spacer, suggesting lower thermal stability of C(60)P2. The combined technique of thermogravimetric analysis-mass spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the thermal decomposition onset of the analyzed samples is accompanied by C C cleavage of the dodecyloxyside chain groups, followed by the decomposition of the 1,2,3-triazole, dicarboxylate and benzoate moieties. It was found that no thermal decomposition of the fullerene carbon cage occurs up to 670 degrees C. Molecular modeling with Hyperchem software version 7.5 confirmed that C(60)P1 is more thermally stable than C(60)P2.