Kinetics of the thermal degradation of polycarbonate films containing silver nanoparticles

The kinetic features of thermal degradation of polycarbonate films containing 0.02–0.13 wt % silver are investigated. The analysis of surface plasmon resonance spectra shows that the composite films contain silver nanoparticles with sizes from 10 to 200 nm. The shapes and sizes of particles are determined via scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that the rates of thermal degradation of the nanocomposites are much higher than the rate of degradation of the initial polycarbonate; the highest catalytic activity is exhibited by spherical silver nanoparticles with sizes below than 40 nm, while particles shaped as bipyramids and having sizes of 100–200 nm are less active catalytically.