Studies on a dicyanate containing four phenylene rings and polycyanurate copolymers. 3. Application of mathematical models to determine the kinetics of the thermal degradation processes

Selected copolymers of bis-4-(4-cyanatophenoxy)phenyl sulphone with a commercial dicyanate, 2,2-bis(4-cyanatophenyl)propane are analysed using thermogravimetry to examine the processes of thermal degradation. Kinetic treatment of the data from these thermal analyses yields three Arrhenius equations for each monomer individually. The kinetics are consistent with a three-stage degradation mechanism, but the total kinetics of the copolymers cannot be derived simply from the sum of the constituent parts added together in proportion to their concentration. Each copolymer reacts slightly differently and must therefore be treated individually.