Characterization of Thermal Degradation of Polytrimethylene Terephthalate by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

摘要

The thermal degradation products of polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) obtained by heating the sample in the temperature range of 250-360 °C under non-oxidative conditions was characterized using MALDI-TOF (matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization) mass spectrometry. The structures of the degradation products were determined and the relative compositions were estimated. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra of the thermally degraded PTT sample showed three main series of oligomer products with different end groups, which were carboxyl/carboxyl, carboxyl/allyl, and allyl/allyl. In contrast to the thermal degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the oligomers containing terephthalic anhydrides were not detected, whereas the formation of oligomers containing the unsaturated allyl ester group was confirmed by mass assignment. From these results, it was concluded that the thermal degradation of PTT proceeds exclusively through the β-CH hydrogen transfer mechanism, which is in accordance with the proposed reaction mechanism for the thermal degradation of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT).