Multiscale study and kinetic modeling of PDCPD thermal oxidation

Abstract

Polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD) is a thermoset polymer synthetized from Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization and produced by Reaction Injection Moulding process. Due to its interesting properties, like short processing times (less than 5 min) and high toughness, this polymer is widely used in commercial and industrial applications. This chapter reports chemical changes that occur in PDCPD during thermal oxidation. A particular attention was paid to the double bond consumption since these latter are associated with crosslinking and subsequent changes in mechanical properties. The final objective of this work is to establish a nonempirical kinetic model for lifetime prediction of PDCPD. For these purposes the thermal degradation of unstabilized PDCPD in the thin film has been investigated in severe conditions (temperatures: 50–120°C; oxygen pressures: 0.02–1 MPa) by FTIR and DSC. These experiments aim at determining the kinetic parameters used in kinetic model.