Degradation kinetics of polyimide film

Through the use of thermogravimetry (TG), this work explores the thermal degradation mechanism and kinetics of Kapton (polyimide) film. Isoconversional kinetic methods, which provide activation energy as a function of degradation, present insight into the development of a five-step competitive and consecutive kinetic model. To evaluate the accuracy and validity of the model, a statistical analysis of the implemented kinetic model is also presented. Coupled TG-mass spectroscopy and TG-Fourier transform infrared analysis were used to investigate the decomposition mechanism and to more fully explain the complex, heating-rate-dependent, decomposition pathway of Kapton.