Vinyl acetate/butyl acrylate copolymers - part 1: mechanism of degradation

This work deals with the mechanism of degradation of vinyl acetate/butyl acrylate (VA/BA) copolymers varying the VA/BA ratio. It is shown that for higher VA contents, the degradation starts at comparatively lower temperature but a more thermally stable material is formed. The mechanism of degradation of VA/BA copolymers is then compared with PVA and PBA homopolymers. It appears that the fractions of degradation (gases, high boiling products and residue) for VA/BA copolymer is a combination of those of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and polybutyl acrylate (PBA). However, a slight stabilisation occurs when VA/BA are co-polymerised together compared with a VA and BA combination. Moreover, the comparison of the thermo-oxidative degradation with the pyrolysis demonstrates that the mechanisms are similar at least up to 450 degreesC. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.