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.