Thermal degradation of vinylidene chloride/[4-(t-butoxycarbonyloxy)phenyl]methyl acrylate copolymers

Abstract

Vinylidene chloride polymers containing comonomer units capable of consuming evolved hydrogen chloride to expose good radical-scavenging sites might be expected to display greater thermal stability than similar polymers containing simple alkyl acrylates as comonomer. Incorporation of a comonomer containing the phenyl t-butyl carbonate moiety into a vinylidene chloride polymer has the potential to afford a polymer with pendant groups which might interact with hydrogen chloride to expose phenolic groups. Copolymers of vinylidene chloride with [4-(t-butoxycarbonyloxy)phenyl]methyl acrylate have been prepared, characterized, and subjected to thermal degradation. The degradation has been characterized by thermal and spectroscopic techniques. The degradation of vinylidene chloride/[4-(t-butoxycarbonyloxy)phenyl]methyl acrylate copolymers is much more facile than the same process for similar copolymers containing either [4-(isobutoxycarbonyloxy)phenyl]methyl acrylate or methyl acrylate, a simple alkyl acrylate, as comonomer. During copolymer degradation, [4-(t-butoxycarbonyloxy) phenylmethyl acrylate units are apparently converted to acrylic acid units by extensive fragmentation of the sidechain. Thus, the phenyl t-butyl carbonate moiety does function as a labile acid-sensitive pendant group but its decomposition in this instance leads to the generation of a phenoxybenzyl carboxylate capable of further fragmentation.