Behavior and products of mechano-chemical dechlorination of polyvinyl chloride and poly (vinylidene chloride)

The mechano-chemical (MC) dechlorination of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) was performed by mechanical milling PVC/PVDC powder with zinc powder in a planetary ball mill, and the products of dechlorination were characterized by Infrared spectra (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The experimental results show that PVC/PVDC can be easily dechlorinated by milling with zinc powder, and formed various kinds of inorganic and organic products. Inorganic compounds included Zn2OCl2·2H2O, Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O etc., and organic products involved diamond-like carbon, carbyne fragment, polyacetylene etc. Organic products formed following the paths of dechlorination, dehydrochlorination, crosslink, and oxidation. The mechano-chemical dechlorination process of PVC/PVDC may be an effective approach for carbyne synthesizing in the appropriate condition.