## 3 Results and Discussion
### Thermal Analysis in Air
Figure 3: TG/DTG curves in air of (**a**) M/H, (**b**) M/Cu, (**c**) M/Cu#CuO, and (**d**) M/H#CuO. The second columns in Figure 1 and in Figure 2 show the residues after thermal decomposition in air. Residues in Figure 2 do not have the shape of beads, as is the case in Figure 1. Studies on the thermal decomposition of three copper-containing samples obtained with gel-like resin gave an unexpected result: during heating, the balls \"clicked\" and \"jumped\" out of the crucible, making the resulting TG/DTG curves uninterpretable. Three samples were therefore thermally analyzed after grinding in an agate mortar (Figure 4b-d). Again, the thermal decomposition of materials containing Cu (II) occurred much more easily (at a lower temperature) than the thermal decomposition of the host material (end temperature respectively 464.5, 427.7, and 440.1 \({}^{\circ}\)C vs. 551.7 \({}^{\circ}\)C). For the gel-like host material, the copper contained in it accelerated the decarboxylation step by almost 150 \({}^{\circ}\)C (G/Cu#CuO maximum decomposition rate at 276.4 \({}^{\circ}\)C, vs. G/H at 427.1 \({}^{\circ}\)C). The results of thermal decomposition of eight samples in air are presented in Table 3. From data showing the peak temperatures and end temperature of polymer degradation, it can be noted that, in any case, the presence of copper in the sample (as Cu\({}^{2+}\) ion or CuO deposit) shifted the polymeric matter decomposition toward lower temperatures. Due to the high copper content of the test samples, the mass of the combustion residues was also high. An XRD analysis (Figure 5) showed CuO to be present in the products of the combustion of all the samples. The set of reflections at 20 = 32.68, 35.73, 38.89, 48.91, 53.70, 58.29, 61.71, 66.04, and 68.25 was consistent with ICSD Card No. 16025. In the G/Cu#CuO sample, the residue was as much as 49.3 wt%, indicating that polymeric matter (a phase susceptible to thermal decomposition) represented only half of the initial sample. Figure 4: TG/DTG curves in air of (**a**) G/H, (**b**) G/Cu, (**c**) G/Cu#CuO, and (**d**) G/H#CuO. At the end of the studies carried out in air atmosphere, it is necessary to comment on the effect that the physical form of the sample has on the results of thermal analysis. When carrying out comparative tests for samples of the M series that could be analyzed as grinded or granulated, no significant differences were found in the course of TG/DTG curves. In the next series of tests (under N\({}_{2}\)), the samples were in the same physical form as under air. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Code** & **Water Mass Loss, \%** &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Peak Temperature of Polymer** \\ **Degradation, \({}^{\circ}\)C** \\ \end{tabular} & **End Temperature, \({}^{\circ}\)C** & **Residual Mass, \%** \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{decomposition in air} \\ \hline M/H & 4.02 & 237.8, 416.2, 487.2 & 503.8 & 0.89 \\ \hline M/Cu & 9.37 & 221.9, 279.3, 362.6 & 412.4 & 26.65 \\ \hline M/Cu@CuO & 7.27 & 216.6, 269.2 370.9 & 420.0 & 39.19 \\ \hline M/H\#CuO & 6.30 & 219.9, 281.7, 373.7 & 428.3 & 24.52 \\ \hline G/H & 6.04 & 285.0, 427.1, 527.6 & 551.7 & 0 \\ \hline G/Cu & 10.22 & 246.4, 313.9, 381.7 & 464.5 & 29.86 \\ \hline G/Cu@CuO & 7.55 & 251.7, 276.4, 380.6 & 427.7 & 46.31 \\ \hline G/H\#CuO & 9.26 & 250.3, 318.5, 391.6 & 440.1 & 30.13 \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{decomposition in N\({}_{2}\)} \\ \hline M/H & 4.73 & 238.8, 429.5 & 440.4 & 6.10 \\ \hline M/Cu & 9.28 & 203.5, 302.2, 369.3 & 446.2 & 27.43 \\ \hline M/Cu@CuO & 7.14 & 213.4, 251.3, 290.7, 392.2 & 448.7 & 40.98 \\ \hline M/H\#CuO & 6.27 & 220.7. 296.2, 403.5 & 434.0 & 27.67 \\ \hline G/H & 5.74 & 284.6, 442.8 & 459.5 & 12.17 \\ \hline G/Cu & 9.18 & 246.2, 317.4, 409.2 & 442.1 & 40.27 \\ \hline G/Cu@CuO & 6.70 & 251.5, 289.8, 423.4 & 456.4 & 49.30 \\ \hline G/H\#CuO & 8.08 & 249.7, 334.9, 420.7 & 450.5 & 40.11 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Thermal decomposition results. Figure 5: XRD patterns of residues in air.