Ignition temperatures and pyrolysis of a flame-retardant methyl methacrylate copolymer containing diethyl(methacryloyloxymethyl)-phosphonate units

• Published in: Polymer international 2000-10, Vol.49 (10), p.1164-1168
• Main Authors: Price, Dennis, Pyrah, Kelly, Hull, T Richard, Milnes, G John, Wooley, W Dave, Ebdon, John R, Hunt, Barry J, Konkel, Christopher S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Chemical modifications; Chemical reactions and properties; Degradation; diethyl(methacryloyloxymethyl)phosphonate; Exact sciences and technology; flame retardant; Inorganic and organomineral polymers; methyl methacrylate; Organic polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; polymer degradation; thermogravimetric analysis
• ISSN: 0959-8103; 1097-0126
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0126(200010)49:10<1164::AID-PI513>3.0.CO;2-M

The ignition and pyrolysis of some copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with diethyl(methacryloyloxymethyl)phosphonate (DEMMP) have been studied by a simple tube furnace and by isothermal and non‐isothermal TGA. The results indicate that copolymers containing DEMMP thermally degrade, under both air and nitrogen, by a mechanism which is more complex than that (simple depolymerization) for poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The copolymers containing 10 mol% or more of DEMMP are inherently flame retardant in that they fail to autoignite at 480 °C and take longer to autoignite at 490 °C than PMMA or MMA–DEMMP copolymers containing only 5 mol% DEMMP. The formation of a carbonaceous residue or char on combustion of the MMA–DEMMP copolymers suggests that flame retardance is due mainly to reactions in the condensed phase. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry