Thermal analysis-FTIR spectroscopy, TA-FTIR, has been used to
study the chemical reactivity and physical properties of polymers
at a molecular level. Polymer degradation, in particular, has been
widely studied since it enables changes in the polymer structure
to be followed as a function of temperature and time, the kinet-ics of reactions have been followed by the change in intensity of
functional groups [1–7] and any significant change in chemical
composition determined from the appearance and disappearance
of absorption bands. In this way the relative importance of competing reactions have been established as well as the build-up and
disappearance of transient species involved in the decomposition
reactions.