Polymer complexes. III. Stability and degradation of acrylonitrile‐transition metal bromide polymer complexes

Thermal stabilities and degradation behaviour of PAN homopolymer and AN‐CuBr, AN‐CuBr2, AN‐CoBr2, AN‐NiBr2 and AN‐CdBr2 polymer complexes were investigated. The stability of the polymer complexes is less than that of PAN. The main degradation products of the polymer complexes are ammonia and hydrogen cyanide, besides some monomer and methane. The activation energies for the degradation of PAN and the AN‐CuBr, AN‐CuBr2 and AN‐CoBr2 polymer complexes are higher than those of the AN‐NiBr2 and AN‐CdBr2 polymer complexes.