Solvent effect on thermal degradation of plasticized para-substituted polystyrenes

The thermal effect on stability of a series of para-substituted polystyrenes with methyl, methoxy and α-methyl substituents in various solvents was studied in the temperature range of 298-363 K. They gave a monomer fluorescence as a minor part and excimer fluorescence as a major part. Thermal heating of para-substituted polystyrenes shows a decrease in both monomer and excimer fluorescences in all used solvents. Thermal heating causes a small fluorescence quenching effect at lower temperatures in solution but becomes very dominant at higher temperatures. Added terephthalate and phthalate plasticizers to these para-substituted polystyrenes caused a quenching of both monomer and excimer fluorescences without the formation of exciplex emission. The thermal quenching processes of the plasticized polymers were accompanied by a change in the structure of the fluorescence spectra at high heating temperatures. This may indicate that thermodestruction of these polymers starts from a random chain scission. The change in solvent polarity has considerable effect on fluorescence quenching but it has a minor effect on the thermal degradation of these polymers. The binding energies for excimer formation were calculated in the used solvents.