Characterization of co- and terpolymers of carbon monoxide and olefins by pyrolysis-gas chromatography

Pyrolysis-gas chromatography of alternating carbon monoxide-olefin co- and terpolymers was studied.Ethylene(E)- and/or propylene(P)-carbon moxide (CO) co- and terpolymers and ethylene-styrene(S)-carbon monoxide terpolymers were prepared by palladium catalyst and pyrolyzed at 550°C for 10 s. Various linear ketones, cyclic compounds,and ketoesters were identified among the degradation products of E-CO. The product distribution supports the hypothesis that chain scissions and cyclization reactions take place at the same time in the thermal degradation of this copolymer. The pyrolyzed products of P-CO copolymer are explained as the methyl derivatives of the corresponding products of E-CO copolymer. The products of the ethylene-based terpolymers are divided into three categories: that is, those formed from E-CO/E-CO, E-CO/P(S)-CO, and P(S)-CO/P(S)-CO dyads. EP-CO1 sample,which contained 31% of P-CO unit, gave the the pyrolyzed products from P-CO/P-CO dyad in a very small amount. The ES-CO terpolymers showed somewhat different degradation behavior from that of S-CO copolymer.