Investigation of Fullerenes as High Temperature Stabilizers of Poly(methyl methacrylate) and Polystyrene

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Abstract
Investigation has been made on the effects of fullerenes C60 and C70 on the degradation of PMMA and PS under helium and oxygen by a DSC method. The dependences of the temperature of the onset of the thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation of the polymers on concentration of C60 and C70 have been obtained. The temperature limits of effective inhibition of the polymers by fullerenes have been determined. The temperature limit depends on the chemical structure of polymer, namely it is considerably greater in the degradation of more stable polymer. In the thermo-oxidative degradation of the polymers with addition of fullerenes, the temperature limit of inhibition of less stable PS is much less and of more stable PMMA is considerably greater than that in the presence of well-known antioxidants. It was concluded that fullerenes are more effective high temperature inhibitors of the thermo-oxidative degradation of PMMA than well-known antioxidants. The suggestion was made that the thermo-oxidative degradation of polymers initiates the oxidation of fullerenes.