Thermal decomposition products of polypropylene

Abstract

Isotactic polypropylene was decomposed under vacuum at 360, 380, and 400 degrees C, and the volatile products from C(1) to (12) hydrocarbons were analyzed by gas chromatography. The formation of the main products is discussed on the basis of a free-radical mechanism in which intramrolecular radical transfer is assumed to play an important role. The mechanism of the formation of a number of products suggested by previous workers is criticized on the basis of the results of a more comprehensive analysis of this investigation.