Analysis of Recycled Polyesters by MALDI-TOFMS (3)

Introduction

With the establishment of recycling-related laws in recent years, we are increasingly coming into contact with recycled plastic products. Along with this, there is a growing need for faster and more detailed analysis of recycled products. Typically, analysis of oligomers may provide sufficient information about the polyesters in these plastic products. Recently, MALDI- TOFMS has become one of the instruments of choice for analysis of oligomers as it allows acquisition of information on the terminal groups and monomer units very quickly. However, even the use of MALDI-TOFMS can be problematic in the measurement and analysis of multi- component substances or when contaminants are present. The use of size exclusion chromatography in conjunction with MALDI (SEC-MALDI) is now gaining acknowledgment as an effective means of resolving this problem. Here, we introduce an example of analysis of polyethylene terephthalate as a recycled polymer using precipitation for the rough separation of the oligomers together with SEC-MALDI.

September 15, 2011 GMT