Polymer analysis sample preparation

Extraction and sample preparation are of importance in plant analysis. Clinic and forensic analyses usually rely on appropriate sample preparation to achieve a sufficiently low limit of detection. The pretreatment procedure before the chromatographic measurement must ensure exhaustive extraction of the analyte and removal of matrix that may interfere with analysis. Sample preparation methods for analysis of Catharanthus alkaloids include liquid-liquid extraction (LEE), supercritical fluid extraction (SEE), and molecularly imprinted polymers (MlPs)-based extraction. 

Thus, for the investigation of buried polymer interfaces, several techniques with molecular resolution are also available. Recently NMR spin diffusion experiments [92] have also been applied to the analysis of a transition zone in polymer blends or crystals and even the diffusion and mobility of chains within this layer may be analyzed. There are still several other techniques used, such as radioactive tracer detection, forced Rayleigh scattering or fluorescence quenching, which also yield valuable information on specific aspects of buried interfaces. They all depend very critically on sample preparation and quality, and we will discuss this important aspect in the next section. 

In the analysis of polymer surfaces and interfaces there has been tremendous progress in recent years. This is to a large extent due to the development of surface- and interface-sensitive analytical techniques which previously had not been applied to polymers. It is thus possible to achieve molecular resolution both for the free polymer surface and for buried interfaces between polymers. In addition, suitable sample preparation techniques are available and extremely homogeneous and smooth polymer thin films can be prepared. They may be put together to investigate the interface between polymers. 

Table 1.13, which lists the main techniques used for polymer/additive analysis, allows some interesting observations. Classical extraction methods still score very high amongst sample preparation techniques on the other hand, not unexpectedly, inorganic analysis methods are not in frequent use for separation purposes... 

Analytical techniques for the quantitative determination of additives in polymers generally fall into two classes indirect (or destructive) and direct (or nondestructive). Destructive methods require an irreversible alteration to the sample so that the additive can be removed from the plastic material for subsequent detention. This chapter separates the additive wheat from the polymer chaff , and deals with sample preparation techniques for indirect analysis. 

In general, new sample preparation technologies are faster, more efficient and cost effective than traditional sample preparation techniques. They are also safer, more easily automated, use smaller amounts of sample and less organic solvent, provide better target analyte recovery with enhanced precision and accuracy. Attention to the sample preparation steps has also become an important consideration in reducing contamination. A useful general guide to sample preparation has been published [3]. A recent review on sample preparation methods for polymer/additive analysis is also available [4]. 

Table 3.1 Sample preparation processes in active use for polymer/additive analysis...

Table 3.4 summarises the main characteristics of a variety of sample preparation modes for in-polymer additive analysis. Table 3.5 is a short literature evaluation of various extraction techniques. Majors [91] has recently reviewed the changing role of extraction in preparation of solid samples. Vandenburg and Clifford [4] and others [6,91-95] have reviewed several sample preparation techniques, including polymer dissolution, LSE and SEE, microwave dissolution, ultra-sonication and accelerated solvent extraction. 

Applications Shake-flask extraction nowadays finds only limited application in polymer/additive analysis. Carlson et al. [108] used this technique to extract antioxidants from rubber vulcanisates for identification purposes (NMR, IR, MS). Wrist-action shaking at room temperature was also used as the sample preparation step for the UV and IR determination of Ionol CP, Santonox R and oleamide extracted from pelletised polyethylene using different solvents [78]. BHT could be extracted in 98 % yield from powdered PP by shaking at room temperature for 30 min with carbon disulfide. 

Berger [340] has examined the use of pSFC in polymer/additive analysis. As many polymer additives are moderately polar and nonvolatile SFC is an appropriate separation technique at temperatures well below those at which additives decompose [300,341,342], SFC is also a method of choice for additives which hydrolyse easily. Consequently, Raynor et al. [343] and others [284,344] consider that SFC (especially in combination with SFE) is the method of choice for analysing polymer additives as a relatively fast and efficient sample preparation method. Characterisation of product mixtures of nonpolar to moderately polar components encompassing a wide range of molecular masses can be accomplished by cSFC-FID. Unknown polymer additives may be identified quite adequately by means of cSFC-FID by comparison with retention times of standards [343], However, identification by this method tends to be time-consuming and requires that all the candidate compounds are on hand. SFC-FID of some low-to-medium polarity additives on reversed-phase packed columns... 

Nowadays, MS is often no longer the analytical bottleneck, but rather what precedes it (sample preparation) and follows it (data handling, searching). Direct mass-spectrometric methods have to compete with the separation techniques such as GC, HPLC and SFC that are commonly used for quantitative analysis of polymer additives. Extract analysis has the general advantage that higher-molecular-weight (less-volatile) additives can be detected more readily than by direct analysis of the polymer compound. 

SEC in combination with multidimensional liquid chromatography (LC-LC) may be used to carry out polymer/additive analysis. In this approach, the sample is dissolved before injection into the SEC system for prefractionation of the polymer fractions. High-MW components are separated from the additives. The additive fraction is collected, concentrated by evaporation, and injected to a multidimensional RPLC system consisting of two columns of different selectivity. The first column is used for sample prefractionation and cleanup, after which the additive fraction is transferred to the analytical column for the final separation. The total method (SEC, LC-LC) has been used for the analysis of the main phenolic compounds in complex pyrolysis oils with minimal sample preparation [974]. The identification is reliable because three analytical steps (SEC, RPLC and RPLC) with different selectivities are employed. The complexity of pyrolysis oils makes their analysis a demanding task, and careful sample preparation is typically required. 

Table 7.90 shows the main characteristics of the polymer/additive analysis procedure, consisting of dissolution followed by p. SEC-GC. An advantage of this approach is the minimisation of the extraction losses inherent in conventional sample preparation techniques. The determination of higher-molecular-weight additives is restricted, due to the upper interface temperature attainable in the GC-MS system. The usefulness of the tool for quantitative analysis has been ascertained [948,976],... 

Trends in element analysis are multi-element (survey) analysis, lower concentration levels, micro/local element analysis and speciation (coupling with chromatography). An overview of the determination of elements in polymeric materials is available [7], Reviews on sample preparation for trace analysis are given in refs [8-10]. Quality assurance of analytical data in routine elemental analysis has been discussed [11], Organic analysis is obviously much more requested in relation to polymer/additive matrices than elemental analysis. 

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