Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
2021
Department
Chemistry
Abstract
Poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) doped with transition metal nitrate hydrates are cast into thin films giving a high β-phase content. Analysis of the thermal behavior of the doped PVDF shows that the decomposition of the metal (II) nitrate hydrates to metal (II) oxides is catalyzed by the PVDF, as evidenced by reduction in the decomposition temperature by as much as 170 °C compared to the pure metal salts. In contrast, there is little to no apparent catalysis for the decomposition of the metal (III) nitrate hydrates. The FTIR spectra of the gas phase decomposition products show H2O and NO2 are the major components for both PVDF-doped material and the pure metal nitrate hydrates. A mechanism for the role of PVDF is proposed that uses the internal electric field of the ferroelectric phase to orient the nitrate ions and polarize the N-O bonds.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Polymers
Volume
13
Issue
18
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Sumathirathne, L. & Euler, W. B. (2021). Catalysis of the Thermal Decomposition of Transition Metal Nitrate Hydrates by Poly(vinylidene difluoride). Polymers, 13(18), 3112. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183112
Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183112
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.