Thermal degradation of hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan–Cd complexes

Thermal degradation of hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan–Cd complexes (HTCC–Cd) was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. The results indicate that the degradation of HTCC–Cd in nitrogen atmosphere was two-step reaction. For the first step of degradation, the initial temperature of mass loss (T 0), the final temperature of mass loss (T f), and the temperature of maximum mass loss (T p) increase linearly with the rising of heating rate (B). T o = 1.241B + 220.3, T p = 1.111B + 245.8, and T f = 1.335B + 358.2. Using different methods, the kinetic parameters of the two steps were investigated. The results show that the activation energies of the first step of degradation obtained using Friedman and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa methods are 1.684 × 105 and 1.646 × 105 J mol−1, and the corresponding activation energies for the second step are 1.165 × 105 J mol−1 and 1.373 × 105 kJ mol−1. The results obtained from Phadnis–Deshpande methods indicate that the two degradation processes are both nucleation and growth process, and follow A4 mechanism with intergral form g(X) = [−ln(1 − X)]4.