Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) study of thermal stability in vinylidene fluoride copolymers

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) was used to investigate the thermal stability of bisphenol AF crosslinked vinylidene (VF2)/hexafluoropropylene (HFP) copolymers. The uncrosslinked copolymers have the same copolymer ratio of VF2/HFP (3.5/1) with different molecular weights and dynamic shear moduli. The FTIR spectra of the crosslinked copolymer network show that the thermal stability is related to the molecular weights and dynamic shear moduli of the linear, uncrosslinked copolymers, and the concentrations of base and metal oxide filler in the pre-crosslinked copolymer films. The thermo-oxidation of the crosslinked copolymers by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) also shows dependence on the molecular weights and dynamic shear moduli.