Main products and kinetics of the thermal degradation of polyamides

The thermal degradation of the polyamides (PA) 6, 12, 66 and 612 was investigated by means of thermal analysis/mass spectrometry (TA–MS) and pyrolysis in a german standard oven. Sample masses were about 20 and 40 mg. The heating rates used in the dynamic studies were 1, 5 and 10 K min−1. Both air and nitrogen atmospheres were utilized. The kinetic parameters were calculated from the TA–MS measurements and the main decomposition products were registered online. The evolved products from the pyrolysis oven were captured and analyzed off-line by GC/MS.