Oxidative thermal degradation of polytetrafluoroethylene

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Oxidative thermal degradation studies were performed on polytetrafluoroethylene in air and oxygen by using a stagnation burner arrangement. The autoignition behavior as a function of temperature and oxidizing medium and the nature and relative proportion of the volatiles produced prior to ignition, on ignition, and during combustion were determined. In oxygen only COF2, CO2, and CF4 were formed; in air C2F4 was observed, together with a spectrum of rearrangement derived fluorocarbons in addition to the expected oxidation products. The autoignition temperature in air was found to be considerably higher than in oxygen (575°C compared to 512°C).