Some aspects of the ozone degradation of poly(vinyl alcohol)

Ozonized PVAL has been studied by thermal analysis (TGA, DTG and DTA) in comparison to a reference untreated PVAL under N2. The oxidation of PVAL causes its complete amorphization since the crystalline melting point of PVAL at 235 °C is no longer detectable in the case of ozonized PVAL. In any case ozonized PVAL shows a better thermal stability which can be confirmed for instance by a higher maximum decomposition rate temperature as measured by DTG. This result is in agreement with theoretical calculations made by group increments according to Van Krevelen's method which predicts a higher decomposition temperature for a PVAL having ketonic groups in place of alcoholic moieties in the main polymer backbone.