Peter N. Lavrenko, Olga V. Okatova, Burkhard Schulz

• Translational diffusion of poly(1,4-phenylene-1,3,4-oxadiazole) in 96% H2S04 was studied, and the intrinsic viscosity of the polymer solution was measured in various stages of degradation at temperatures from 82 to 105°C. The rate constant of the degradation process was determined from variation of the molecular mass of the degradation products with time at a fixed solution temperature, and the activation energy of the process was calculated using the temperature dependence of the rate constant. The activation energy (E = 103 ± 7 kJ/mol) is lower than that for the hydrolysis of aromatic polyamides in sulfuric acid. According to the hydrodynamic data, the degree of coiling of the degradation products is the saine as that of the intact (non-degraded) macromolecules. This indicates that elements of the chernical structure responsible for the short-range order in the macromolecular chain are retained in the course of degradation.