Synthesis and thermal kinetic study of phosphoric acid, P, P′-1, 4-phenylene P, P, P′, P′-tetraphenyl ester

A phosphorous flame retardant of phosphoric acid, P, P′-1, 4-phenylene P, P, P′, P′-tetraphenyl ester (PAPTE) was synthesized by diphenyl chlorophosphate and hydroquinone. The structural features of PAPTE were investigated with mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and nuclear magnetic resonance methods. The thermal behavior of PAPTE was carried out with thermogravimetric (TG) analysis instruments. The kinetic parameters, including the activation energy and pre-exponential factor of the decomposition process for the title compound, were calculated through the Friedman method, the Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose method and the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method, while the thermal decomposition mechanism was also studied with the invariant kinetic parameters (IKP) method based on a set of TG data obtained at different heating rates. It was shown that the activation energies calculated for the decomposition reaction by different methods were found to be consistent with the conversion functions calculated by means of the IKP method which depend on a set of kinetic methods.