The inhibiting action of ferrocene and p-ferrocenyl-aniline on
the kinetics of thermal degradation of polyethylene was investigated
by gravimetry, by measuring the changes in average molecular
weight, by gas chromatography and spectroscopic techniques. The
effect of ferrocene .derivatives is explained by assuming chemical
reactions of the decomposition products (such as cyclopentadiene
and cyclopentadienyl radicals) with macroradicals to occur