Nonisothermal decomposition kinetics of nylon 1010/poss composites

Abstract

The thermal stability of nylon 1010/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) composites prepared by melt blending was investigated with thermogravimetric analysis. The octavinyl POSS (vPOSS) and epoxycyclohexyl POSS (ePOSS) were used, and it was found that nylon/vPOSS composites have higher integral procedure decomposition temperature and char yield at 800°C than nylon/ePOSS composites. The Doyle-Ozawa (model-free) and Friedman (model-fitting) methods were used to characterize the nonisothermal decomposition kinetics of nylon 1010 and its composites. The activation energy (Ea), reaction order (n), and the natural logarithm of frequency factor of nylon 1010 were 267 kJ/mol, 1.0, and 47 min-1, respectively, in nitrogen. After the addition of POSS, the Ea of nylon 1010 considerably increased, whereas n had less change. The Ea steadily increased with increasing conversion and with increasing heating rate. The lifetime of nylon 1010 and its composites decreased with increasing temperature. At a given temperature, POSS significantly prolonged the lifetime of nylon 1010. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 17-23, 2009.