Graft Reaction of Furfural with Polyvinyl Chloride and Its Effect on Thermal Stability of Polyvinyl Chloride

A graft reaction of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with furfural was conducted in a tetrahydrofuran solution. The resulting graft structure (FF-g-PVC) was characterized using UV spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. The grafting efficiency was determined through ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Thermal stability analysis via thermogravimetric (TG) testing revealed that furfural was successfully grafted onto the PVC chain. In a nitrogen atmosphere, the temperature of the maximum weight loss rate during the first stage of pyrolysis increased from 296.3 °C to 301.7 °C, while the activation energy for the second stage increased from 199.4 kJ/mol to 294.4 kJ/mol, indicating enhanced stability and delayed degradation of the PVC. Additionally, microwave irradiation markedly improved the graft reaction, achieving a grafting rate of 57.76‰ compared to only 1.808‰ with water bath heating. The optimal conditions were found to be a PVC/FF/Zn ratio of 1:1:0.9, with microwave irradiation for 20 min at 40 °C.