ABSTRACT
The thermal degradation of this copolymer has been studied by thermal volatilization analysis (TVA) (43). Formation of conjugated double bonds and hydroxyl groups, as well as the development of insolubility in water owing to intermolecular dehydration are the most essential rearrangements occurring under isothermal investigation at 205°e. Because it is related to the time of degradation the data obtained show that the first stage of degradation basically consists of acetic acid loss (Scheme 1) followed by subsequent elimination of carbon dioxide from the MAn (Scheme 2) units remaining in the chain.
