Thermal decomposition study of some polyimide-polydimethylsiloxane copolymers

This study presents the evaluation of thermal and thermo-oxidative stability of some polyimide-polydimethylsiloxane (PI-PDMS) copolymers and establishes the thermal degradation mechanism by simultaneous mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of gas products from thermogravimetric analyzer (TG/MS/FTIR) in two working atmospheres: air and He. The thermal stability and the start mechanism of thermal degradation were correlated with the chemical structure of PI-PDMS and the working atmosphere. The main thermal decomposition products were determined in both oxidative and inert atmosphere.