“…Various characterization techniques have been used to study the degradation of PES in general, including x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), 10 -12 gel permeation chromatography (GPC), 13 -16 Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), 13,16,17 UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV), 5,6,8,13,15,17,18 fluorescent x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), 19 thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), 20 pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py/GC/MS), 20 field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) 21 and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). 17 Munro and Clark 12 used XPS to monitor changes in surface chemistry in photoirradiated PES films.…”