Studies of the major degradation products of a higher alkyl polyacrylate using pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry Original Research Article

This paper deals with the degradation products of a higher alkyl polyacrylate after separation of the polymer and the low molecular additives by preparative gel permeation chromatography. The composition and distribution of polymer were determined by pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (PyGC–MS). The mechanism of thermal degradation of higher alkyl polyacrylate was studied. The degradation products of higher alkyl polyacrylates were compared to those of lower alkyl polyacrylates. Synthetic monomer and alkyl formate were used to confirm the degradation products. The relationship between degradation products and temperature were concluded in this paper. The second degradation products and the branched carbon number distribution of polyacrylate were studied.