Investigation of the thermal decomposition kinetics of poly(propylene oxide) using thermogravimetric analysis

Kinetic parameters for the thermal decomposition of the poly(propylene oxide) were investigated with the use of a dynamic thermogravimetric analysis technique. For the aim of this work, two samples which differ in molecular weights (M-v, = 129,000 and 78,000) were studied. The kinetic parameters for both samples, which include activation energy, reaction order, and preexponential factors, were found. The activation energies, are 78.43 and 83.91 kJ/mol, the reaction order is 1, and the preexponential factors are 1.48 X 10(6) and 8.91 x 10(6) min(-1).