ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Reactions of Hydrogen Atoms with Polymers at Low Temperatures

A. M. Dubinskaya

Institute of Chemical Physics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR., Moscow

Abstract: The present paper demonstrates that the polymers of different chemica structure interact at 100—150 К with atomic hydrogen, free radicals being formed. Macromolecules which contain aromatic rings (PS, PMS and PET) or nitrile groups (PAN) join hydrogen atoms. In other polymers (РЕ, PP, PI, PEO, PVA, PAA, PMM, PCL, and PVAc) the abstraction of hydrogen atoms, generally from chief polymer chains, is observed. The reactions of atomic hydrogen with polymers take place in thin surface layer. The thickness of this layer is about 10^-6 cm. The local radical concentrations attain 1 — 5 X 10¹⁰ spins g^-1. The values of activation energy of hydrogen atom abstraction from macromolecules at low temperatures are very small. Thus the activation energy for hydrogen atom abstraction from PI is 2 ± 0.5 kcal mole- 1 and 1.2 ± 0.5 kcal mole^-1 for PEO.

Full paper in Portable Document Format: 263a230.pdf

Chemical Papers 26 (3) 230–236 (1972)