Thermal and morphological studies on ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer-polyaniline blends

A series of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer-polyaniline (EVA-PAn) blends with different weight ratios of PAn were obtained by mechanical blending using plasticorder. Thermogravimetric analysis TGA) studies of the blends were performed in order to establish the mode of their thermal degradation. The TGA thermograms showed that the thermal degradation of EVA-PAn blends was found to proceed in three steps except in the case of EVA-PAn (90/10) blend system. Degradation kinetic parameter was obtained for each stage of thermal degradation of blends, using Broido and Coats-Redfern methods. The activation energy (E) of the blends for the thermal degradation process lie in the range of 3.3-95.6 kJ/mol and of 9.6-135.0 kJ/mol for Broido and Coats-Redfern methods, respectively. The surface morphology of the EVA-PAn blends was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after thermal treatment. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.