Thermal degradation of polystyrene—4. Decomposition of oxygen-containing polymers

Abstract The thermal decomposition of two polystyrene samples prepared by radical polymerisation in the presence of oxygen was studied in the temperature range 280–300°C where volatile formation is negligible. The energy of activation for chain scission of the oxygen-containing polymers was lower than that of a reference sample prepared under vacuum. All three polymers contained the same proportion of weak bonds and it was therefore concluded that these structures are not copolymerised peroxide groups.