Pyrolysis-gas chromatography–isotope ratio mass spectrometry of polyethylene

Abstract

8Polyethylene is probably the most used plastic material in daily life and its accurate analysis is 9 of importance. In this communication the chemical structure of polyethylenes is studied in 10 detail using conventional analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS), bulk stable isotopic analysis (IRMS) 11 and pyrolysis compound specific stable isotopic analysis (Py-CSIA) to measure stable isotope 12 proportions (δ reported. To the best of our knowledge this is the first application Py-CSIA to the study of a 21 synthetic polymer. This hyphenated analytical technique is a promising tool to study synthetic 22 materials, providing not only a fingerprinting, but also allowing the traceability of the 23 polymerization process and the origin of the materials. 24 25

Molecular characterisation of a bio‐based active packaging containing Origanum vulgare L. essential oil using pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

“…Other well‐known advantages of the technique include the requirement of small sample sizes and little to no sample preparation needs. This makes analytical pyrolysis a convenient method for inexpensive and relatively rapid analyses of synthetic and bio‐based polymers including polylactic acid and polybutylene succinate plastics.…”

Analytical pyrolysis evidences the presence of granaticins in the violet stains of a Roman tomb

“…Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was performed using a double-shot pyrolyzer (Frontier Labs. model 2020i) attached to a GC/MS system Agilent 6890N, as described by González-Pérez et al [13]. Briefly, the samples were introduced into a preheated microfurnace set at temperatures of 100 to 250°C for thermal desorption and/or at 350 to 500°C for pyrolysis.…”

Analytical pyrolysis and stable isotope analyses reveal past environmental changes in coralloid speleothems from Easter Island (Chile)

“…Typical configurations of generic Py-CSIA devices have been previously described [7][8][9]. This technique has been recently used in a variety of fields from extraterrestrial OM in meteorites [7,8], soil and sediments [10][11][12][13], oil shales and petrol [14,15], polymers and food [3,16]. Therefore, Py-CSIA represents a promising technique with high potential for the study of the effect of environmental changes in subterranean environments, such as caves.…”

“…Pyrolysis compound-specific isotope analysis (Py-CSIA) combines the advantages of analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC-MS) with IRMS for the characterization of entrapped or low solubility organic compounds. In this case, the pyrolysate is directed to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Py-GC-C-IRMS) to measure stable isotope proportions i.e., δ 13 C, δ 15 N, of specific pyrolysis compounds [3]. Early work demonstrated that the pyrolysis process does not produce appreciable fractionation of stable isotopes and therefore the pyrolysis products are considered to be isotopically representative of the starting material [4][5][6].…”