Pyrolysis-GC/MS Techniques for Polymer Characterization and Degradation

A.JIMENEZ; R.A. RUSECKAITE

Encyclopedia of Chromatography, 3 rd Ed.

Taylor & Francis

Año: 2009;

Gas Chromatography (GC) is one of the most important instrumental techniques in analytical science. It is fast, sensitive and allows combination with a wide range of selective detection methods. However, the application area of GC is limited because the molecules to be analysed have to be thermally stable and sufficiently volatile. Numerous molecules, in particular macromolecules, do not meet these requirements. Polymers are not volatile; some of them have low solubility in most solvents and/or decompose easily during heating. Therefore, the direct application of powerful analytical tools, such as Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) is difficult on most polymers and composite materials.