Abstract

Metal poly(n-butylmethacrylates) polymers were obtained by radical polymerization with azodiisobutyronitrile (AIBN). The thermal stabilities of the metal polymers (M-PBMA) have been studied by thermogravimetry (TG) between 25 and 550°C under nitrogen flow. The decomposition temperature was obtained from the first derivative of the TG curve. The kinetic parameters of the thermal decomposition were determined by the Arrhenius equation. All these polymers degrade in a single step. The kinetic data thus obtained show that the thermostabilities decrease in the order Pd-PBMA &>; Ga-PBMA &>; Cu-PBMA &>; Ag-PBMA &>; Au-PBMA &>; Al-PBMA &>; Cd-PBMA &>; Ge-PBMA &>; Zn-PBMA &>; Sb-PBMA &>; In-PBMA &>; Sn-PBMA. In fact, the thermal stability is dependent upon the metal incorporated in the polymer, the highest being stable up to 389°C and the lowest up to 260°C. The order of reaction from the thermal decomposition of these metal polymers was found to be −0.25 for the homopolymers, Pd, Au, Ag, Cd, Zn, Ga, Ge and Sn but −0.5 for Bi, Sb and Al. The pre-exponential factor, the reaction order and the activation energy of the decomposition reaction for M-PBMA have been determined.