Fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer thermal degradation with its effect on copolymer physical and structural properties

Fluoropolymers are fluorinated polymers that are highly attracted to industries due to their high chemical, thermal and mechanical resistance. Among them, fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymers (FEP) include very prominent Teflon (TM) commercial resins. Easy processability and low cost have contributed to FEP involving many interesting applications. In this sense, the extruded samples of fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer (FEP), thermally degraded at different temperatures and times were studied to assess the influence of degradation on their properties. After degradation, the samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques and their morphology was evaluated through the atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results obtained through TGA revealed that the samples maintained two stages of decomposition at all degradation temperatures. No significant changes were observed in the spectra obtained by FTIR analysis. The analyses through AFM showed an increase in the surface irregularity of the polymer. In this way, it was possible to evaluate the different physical and structural changes of FEP in different times and temperatures of degradation without loss of the functional group. In general, the physical and structural properties of FEP were affected with the degradations performed without loss of functional group. The most affected properties were the crystallinity and morphology of the polymer, which could be evaluated by DSC and AFM techniques. Thus, this work showed the importance of the study of FEP properties, giving the industries greater support regarding the evaluation of degradability of the material after processing and under certain applications.