Abstract
The kinetic analysis of the thermogravimetric curves for the thermal decomposition processes of PVA/PbS was performed. The samples were heated in nitrogen, with three different heating rates: 10,20 and 30 degrees C min(-1). Various forms of non-isothermal methods of analysis for determining the kinetic parameters were used. The differential and integral models were used to calculate the activation energies. Comparing with pure PVA, the results showed that the maximum activation energy of thermal degradation is achieved for PVA/PbS nanocomposite. Isoconversion model is used for predicting the thermal degradation acceleration. The results showed that the acceleration of thermal degradation for pure PVA was faster than PVA/PbS nanocomposite. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.