Accelerated Thermal Depolymerization of Cyclic Polyphthalaldehyde with a Polymeric Thermoacid Generator

Hector Lopez Hernandez; Olivia P Lee; Catherine M Possanza Casey; Joshua A Kaitz; Chan Woo Park; Christopher L Plantz; Jeffrey S Moore; Scott R White

doi:10.1002/marc.201800046

Accelerated Thermal Depolymerization of Cyclic Polyphthalaldehyde with a Polymeric Thermoacid Generator

Macromol Rapid Commun. 2018 Jun;39(11):e1800046. doi: 10.1002/marc.201800046. Epub 2018 Apr 30.

Authors

Hector Lopez Hernandez¹, Olivia P Lee², Catherine M Possanza Casey², Joshua A Kaitz², Chan Woo Park³, Christopher L Plantz⁴, Jeffrey S Moore², Scott R White⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
² Department of Chemistry, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
³ Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
⁵ Department of Aerospace Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.

PMID: 29709094
DOI: 10.1002/marc.201800046

Abstract

Thermally triggerable polymer films that degrade at modest temperatures (≈85 °C) are created from a blend of cyclic polyphthalaldehyde (cPPA) and a polymeric thermoacid generator, poly(vinyl tert-butyl carbonate sulfone) (PVtBCS). PVtBCS depolymerizes when heated, generating acid which initiates the depolymerization of cPPA into volatile byproducts. The mass loss onset for 2 wt% PVtBCS/cPPA is 22 °C lower than the onset for neat cPPA alone in dynamic thermogravimetric analysis experiments. Increased concentrations of PVtBCS increase the rate of depolymerization of cPPA. Raman spectroscopy reveals that the monomer, o-phthalaldehyde, is the main depolymerization product of the acid-catalyzed depolymerization of cPPA. The PVtBCS/cPPA blend is a promising material for the design and manufacture of transient electronic packaging and polymers.

Keywords: ceiling temperature; metastable polymers; polyphthalaldehyde; transient electronics; triggered depolymerization.

MeSH terms

Acids / chemistry*
Catalysis
Polymers / chemistry*
Spectrum Analysis, Raman
Temperature
Thermogravimetry
Water / chemistry
o-Phthalaldehyde / chemistry*

Substances

Acids
Polymers
Water
o-Phthalaldehyde