Thermo and photo-oxidation of polyisobutylene - II. Influence of the temperature

The influence of the temperature on the mechanism of photo-oxidation of poly (isobutylene) was studied for temperatures of the samples ranging from 30 to 90 degrees C. The oxidation resulting from exposures to UV light at these various temperatures was compared to that obtained by thermo-oxidations carried out in the range 30-120 degrees C. The oxidation was followed by FTIR analysis coupled with chemical derivatizations. The relative variations in the intensities of bands at 890, 1702, 1730 and 1832 cm(-1) permitted a comparison of the behaviour of the polymer at the various temperatures. The results presented in this article show that the oxidative degradation of poly(isobutylene) can be explained in terms of an induced oxidation, even for the highest temperatures where the effect was investigated here. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserved.