Characterization of synthetic polymers

In conclusion, it may be stated that Py-GC/MS is the method of choice for chemical characterization of synthetic polymers used in artworks or as conservation materials. The chemical information is generally specific for the individual component, and the amount of sample required is practically negligible, thus allowing application of the technique even... 

MALDI measures the mass very accurately, and it gives an absolute measurement of mass. Still, sample and solution conditions must be optimized for the best performance of the matrix and therefore, it cannot yet be used as a routine method. Also, characterization of synthetic polymers by MALDI is sometimes... 

SEC is presently the most important method for separation and molecular characterization of synthetic polymers. The exclusion chromatography of lipophilic macromolecules is called also gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and for hydrophilic species, the term gel filtration chromatography (GFC) is often applied. It seems that the term gel permeation chromatography is returning probably because the abbreviation SEC means also Securities and Exchange Commission. 

This book has two main parts, and the material is organized in chapters and sections. The first part of the book has five chapters including an introduction, a discussion on physico-chemistry of thermal degradation of synthetic polymers, a short discussion on instrumentation used in analytical pyrolysis, a chapter discussing what type of information can be obtained from analytical pyrolysis, and a chapter dedicated to the applications of analytical pyrolysis for the analysis and characterization of synthetic polymers. The chapter on applications includes only a few selected examples from the multitude existent in literature, and it is not intended to be exhaustive. Excellent monographs, such as F. W. Billmeyer Jr., Textbook of Polymer Science, J. Wiley, New York, 1971 H. FI. G. Jellinek, ed.. Aspects of Degradation and Stabilization of Polymers. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1980 S. A. Liebman, E. J. Levy, ed. Pyrolysis and GC in Polymer Analysis. M. Dekker, New York, 1985 and T. P. Wampler, ed., Applied Pyrolysis... 

Moad, G. Applications of labeling and multidimensional NMR in the characterization of synthetic polymers. Annu. Rep. NMR Spectrosc. 1992, 29, 287-323. 

There have been numerous successful approaches to LC/MS, ranging from mechanical transport of solute to the mass spectrometer after external solvent removal (belt/wire systems and parhcle-beam interfaces) to bulk soluhon introduchon (with or without splitting) involving nebulizahon and ionization direcly from the solvent stream. However, LC/MS has been surprisingly underutilized for the characterization of synthetic polymers despite its apparent advantages over the direct application of mass spectrometry. 

Cottrell, J. S., Koemer, M., and Gerhards, R., The Characterization of Synthetic Polymers by Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry Rapid Gontm. Mass. Spectrom., 9, 1662, 1995. 

---