Analysis of Poly(Ethylene-co-Vinyl Acetate) Using Off-line Pyrolysis

Abstract

Poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) was pyrolyzed to eliminate acetic acid of VA unit using off-line pyrolysis, and the deacetylated EVA was analyzed infrared spectroscopy (IR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). EVA film for deacetylation was prepared by solution casting on aluminum foil and it was pyrolyzed at low temperature of $300^{\circ}C$ in the off-line pyrolysis apparatus. After deacetylation, carbon-carbon double bond (C=C) was formed by 1,2-elimination of the VA unit in the EVA backbone. Most of C=C bonds were trans-1,4-unit and 1,2-unit was also observed. Presence of the 1,2-unit in deacetylated EVA indicates that terminal or branch VA units exist in the raw EVA. Py-GC/MS chromatogram of deacetylated EVA displayed much smaller acetic acid and much more abundant other pyrolysis products than that of raw EVA, which means that the pyrolysis efficiency and separation condition were improved.

Keywords

• EVA;
• analysis;
• off-line pyrolysis;
• IR;
• Py-GC/MS

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References

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