Oxidative degradation of polyethylene

The degradation of polyethylene in molecular oxygen between 150 and 250°C., in ozone‐enriched O 2 between 20 and 109°C. and in fuming HNO 3 between 25 and 83°C. has been studied. The solid, liquid, and vapor products have been analyzed by means of their infrared spectra. Kinetically, the O 2 oxidation reaction appears to be second order. The Elovich chemisorption equation dq / dt = ae −α q was applied to the data and yielded comparable results. The kinetics were followed by pressure change and constant pressure measurements of oxygen uptake, and by the rate of increase of bands in the infrared spectra. The activation energy of the process was found to be 8–9 kcal./mole for the volumetric and manometric studies as well as for the ozone‐catalyzed reaction, while the HNO 3 oxidation gave a 35.6 kcal. value.