Thermal behavior and degradation mechanism of brominated polystyrenes

Polystyrene samples have been brominated under various conditions. p-Bromostyrene has been polymerized using ?,??-azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. The thermal behavior of these brominated polystyrenes was investigated by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and thermogravimetric analysis. The polymers have been characterized also by infrared spectroscopy and molecular weight measurements were carried out. The nature and the composition of the pyrolysis products gave useful indications about the structure and the mechanism of degradation of the brominated polymers.