TGA and FTIR were employed to investigate the effects of dibutyl phthalate and butyl benzyl phthalate on the thermal degradation behavior of PVB, a binder used commonly for tape casting. Butyl benzyl phthalate was found to enhance the crosslinking of the PVB binder when heated in a nitrogen atmosphere during binder pyrolysis, which retarded its thermal degradation.
The interaction between AIN powder and PVB binder was also studied by using TGA, XPS and a special furnace for collecting residual carbon. Intrinsic char and gas phase mediated char were studied separately.