Summary The influence of organoclay content on the thermal degradation kinetics of EVA‐clay nanocomposites was studied using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The mass ratio of vinyl acetate (VA) to ethylene (E) was varied between 9:91 and 28:72 and the clay loading between 2.5 and 7.5 wt%. Samples were heated under an inert atmosphere up to 700°C, at which point all organic components were volatized. The mass loss curves revealed two‐stage mass‐loss events; the first due to scission of the acetate functional group and the second due to the break‐down of the carbon backbone. The presence of organoclay in the polymer resulted in initiation of the mass‐loss events at lower temperatures. This was more pronounced for the first mass‐loss event. Kinetic analysis of the mass‐loss events was conducted using the method of invariant kinetic parameters (MIKP). These showed that the latter mass loss curve was more likely to fit a diffusion based kinetic model when nano‐clay was present possibly indicating the influence of a char layer on the degradation processes. The effects of the presence of nanoclay on the kinetic parameters of the mass‐loss events are reported.

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