SULFUR-CONTAINING POLYMERS - THERMAL-BEHAVIOR OF COPOLYMERS CONTAINING THIOCARBONATE GROUPS

The thermal behavior of polymers containing 1,3-phenylene and bisphenol-A moieties joined by thiocarbonate and/or carbonate groups was investigated from the point of view of both thermal transitions and the reactions which occur on heating at high temperature. In the presence of oxygen the degradation pathway is more complex and seems to involve both thiocarbonate groups and peroxides; the latter originated from the thermooxidation of bisphenol-A moieties. Branched and crosslinked polymers, possibly resulting from these reactions, are less prone to gas evolution than the parent polymers, as shown by the shift in the TG curves towards higher temperatures.