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Thermal Stability And Degradation Kinetics Of Poly(Methyl Methacrylate)/Layered Copper Hydroxy Methacrylate Composites, Everson Kandare, Hongmei Deng, Dongyan Wang, Jeanne Hossenlopp

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/copper hydroxy methacrylate (CHM) composites were prepared via solution blending and bulk polymerization. Addition of 3% by weight of the CHM additive using solution blending resulted in a significant increment (~45°C) in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) T₅₀, the temperature at which 50% of the original polymeric mass is lost. The value T₅₀ increased by 30°C for a PMMA composite with 4% CHM, synthesized via bulk polymerization. Activation energies, E_a, were calculated as a function of conversion fractions (TGA decomposition profile) for the polymeric materials. Analysis of multiple heating rate data using the Flynn–Wall– Ozawa …