Microstructure of copolymers by statistical modeling of their mass spectra

A novel method for the determination of the microstructure of copolymers is presented here. Statistical modeling of the mass spectral intensities of copolymers has been used to derive information on the distribution of monomers along the copolymer chain, and an automated procedure to find the composition and the sequence of the copolymers analyzed has been developed.     

Effects of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization experimental conditions on quantitative compositional analysis of ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymers

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry has the potential to become a valuable tool for the compositional analysis of copolymers. For a copolymer composed of structurally very similar building blocks with minor chain length changes, one would expect the relative peak intensities observed in the MALDI mass spectra to reflect its composition, at least within a narrow mass range. However, we show that variations in experimental conditions in MALDI can have a significant effect on the mass spectral appearance of a copolymer. The effects of concentration, laser power, type of matrices and solvents on mass spectra of an ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymer are illustrated. These somewhat surprising results show that great care needs to be exercised when interpreting copolymer spectra for compositional analysis, even for copolymers with structurally similar monomers. This work also points out that further studies are needed to better understand and optimize spectral acquisition conditions for reliable copolymer compositional analysis by MALDI.     

Composition and Microstructure Determination of the Syndiotactic Copolymer of para-Methylstyrene and Styrene by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography

The composition and microstructure of syndiotactic para-methylstyrene/styrene copolymer was determined by a pyrolysis gas chromatography (Py-GC) method. This method uses the styrene and para-methylstyrene monomer peak intensities to determine the styrene and para-methylstyrene composition in the copolymer. The number average sequence length of styrene was calculated by using the triad peak intensities. Because of the low concentration of para-methylstyrene in the copolymer, the number average sequence length of para-methylstyrene was determined with formulas that incorporate the copolymer composition and the number average sequence length of styrene. The distribution of para-methylstyrene defined by the terms “percent of single units” and “percent of desired distribution” was calculated by the number average sequence of para-methylstyrene. This method has been tested with copolymers containing up to 24 mole% of para-methylstyrene. The composition results from Py-GC of para-methylstyrene and styrene copolymers used in this study were in excellent agreement with ¹H-NMR results.     

Evaluation of the quantitativeness of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using an equimolar mixture of uniform poly(ethylene glycol) oligomers

Quantitativeness of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) was elucidated using an equimolar mixture of uniform poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) oligomers with no molecular weight distributions. Uniform PEG oligomers with degrees of polymerization n = 6-40 were separated from commercial PEG samples by preparative super-critical fluid chromatography. MALDI-TOF mass spectra of an equimolar mixture of the uniform PEG oligomers were recorded by adding a mixture of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid as a matrix reagent and four chlorinated salts, i.e. LiCl, NaCl, KCl and RbCl. Remarkable non-quantitative effects were observed in the MALDI-TOF mass spectra in both the lower and higher molecular mass regions. At higher molecular masses greater than about 10(3), PEG oligomers with larger molecular mass yielded lower spectral intensities irrespective of the species of adduct cations and higher laser powers induced larger decreases in mass spectral intensities with the increase in their molecular masses. On the other hand, in the lower molecular mass region, less than about 10(3), the observed non-quantitative effect greatly depends on the species of adduct cations, indicating that the stability of the PEG-cation complex affects the MALDI-TOF mass spectral intensities of uniform PEG oligomers.     

Evaluation of mass discrimination effects in the quantitative analysis of polydisperse polymers by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using uniform oligostyrenes

Mass discrimination effects in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) were quantitatively investigated using equiweight and equimolar mixtures of uniform polystyrene (PS) oligomers. Uniform PS oligomers were separated by preparative super-critical fluid chromatography (SFC) from commercial standard PS samples. The separated PS oligomers, with degrees of polymerization n = 2–25, have absolutely no molecular weight distributions. Equiweight and equimolar mixtures of uniform PS oligomers were accurately prepared by weighing by microbalance, and their spectra were recorded using a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer. In the lower molecular weight region (less than about 10³) the oligomers with lower molecular weights give lower mass spectral intensities, with no correlation with laser power. In contrast, higher laser powers yield a decrease of mass spectral intensities in the higher molecular weight region. These results clearly show that mass discrimination effects occur at lower and higher molecular weights depending on the laser power, and provide quantitative information about the discrimination. Using the data on equiweight and equimolar mixtures of PS oligomers, it was possible to calibrate the MALDI-TOF mass spectral data for an analysis of molecular weight distribution of a standard monodisperse PS sample with number-averaged molecular weight of 10³, and to compare it with the molecular weight distribution measured by analytical SFC. The result from the calibrated MALDI-TOF mass spectrum, however, does not agree perfectly with that from the SFC results, because undetectable peaks in MALDI-TOF mass spectra at lower and higher molecular weights could not be included in the calibration of peak intensities. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mass spectra of copolymers which display compositional drifts or sequence constraints

The spectral features appearing in mass spectra of random and block copolymers which display a drift in composition are discussed along with features appearing in mass spectra of terpolymers and tetrapolymers with sequence constraints. It is shown that previous models cannot account for these features. A new model is presented and a compact equation is derived which yields MS intensities. The prediction of the model is compared with some literature data, namely mass spectrometric data concerning a block copolymer sample containing units of alpha-methyl styrene and of methylmethacrylate which display a strong drift in composition, the molar fraction of methylmethacrylate units changing from 0.99 to 0.80 when passing from short to long macromolecular chains. The agreement between theory and experiment is good. A hyperbranched polymer obtained by condensing 4,4'-bis[p(acetoxy)phenyl] valeric acid (referred to as diphenolic acid, DPA) was then considered. The polymer turned out to be a copolymer with regular DPA units and modified DPA units (possessing a phenol group). The molar fraction of regular DPA units changes from 0.80 to 0.95 when passing from low masses to high masses. Copolymers with sequence constraints are considered, such as ABC copolymers in which AA cannot be found along the chain or ABCD copolymers in which A cannot follow A, B cannot follow B, etc. The novel method is applied to an exactly alternating copolymer with units of styrene (St) and maleic anhydride (MAH). The St-MAH sample turned out to be a complex mixture and the presence of a small amount of units of maleic acid (MAC) is detected. The abundance of MAC, estimated by the chain statistical method, is 5%. The method is applied to the copolymer obtained by reactive blending of poly(butylene terephthalate) and poly(bisphenolA carbonate). In this case, the theoretical spectra are generated and spectral features are discussed.     

Polymerization of coordinated monomers. XVIII. Sequence distribution in methyl acrylate–styrene copolymers prepared in the presence of zinc chloride

Methyl acrylate and styrene have been copolymerized in the presence of zinc chloride either by photoinitiation or spontaneously. The copolymerization mechanism is investigated by analyses of copolymers composition and monomer sequence distribution. The resulting copolymers are not always alternating, their composition being dependent especially on the monomer feed ratio. Appreciable deviation to higher methyl acrylate unit content from an equimolar composition occurs at monomer feed fractions of methyl acrylate over 0.7. The larger deviation is induced by higher temperature, by photoirradiation, and by greater dilution of the reaction mixture with toluene. The ¹³C-NMR spectrum of the alternating copolymer shows a sharp singlet at the carbonyl region, whereas the spectra of random copolymers prepared by benzoyl peroxide initiation at 60°C show a triplet splitting at the carbonyl carbon region, irrespective of copolymer composition. The relative intensities of the triplet peaks for the random copolymers are in good correspondence to the contents of triad sequences calculated by means of conventional radical copolymerization theory. These results clearly indicate that the carbonyl splitting is caused predominantly by variation of the monomer sequence and not by variation of the stereosequence. The monomer sequence distribution in the copolymers is thus directly and quantitatively measured from the split carbonyl resonance. Although the same triplet splitting appears in the spectra of methyl acrylate–rich copolymers prepared in the presence of zinc chloride at high feed ratios (>0.7) of methyl acrylate, the relative intensities of the split peaks do not fit the sequence distributions of random copolymers calculated by means of the Lewis–Mayo equation. The copolymerization yielding these peculiar sequences and the alternating sequence in the presence of zinc chloride is fully comprehended by a copolymerization mechanism proceeding between two active coordinated monomers, i.e., the ternary molecular complex composed of zinc chloride, methyl methacrylate, and styrene, and the binary molecular complex composed of zinc chloride and methyl methacrylate.     

Analysis of polymer surfaces by SIMS: 7. Homopolymer and copolymer nylons

Static secondary ion mass spectra (positive and negative) have been obtained from spin-cast films of nylon?3, ?4, ?6, ?7, ?8, ?11, ?12, ?46, ?66 and ?610 homopolymers, as well as nylon?6/66 copolymers covering the composition range. All spectra are highly characteristic and feature protonated multiple repeat unit fragments. Relative peak intensities from the nylon?6/66 copolymers correlate with composition. Overall, the fragmentation patterns bear a strong resemblance to high temperature pyrolysis mass spectra from these polymers.     

Monte-Carlo simulation of copolymer mass spectra

A computer program, MACO5, was developed which employs the Monte-Carlo approach to simulate the time-variation of the mass spectral peak intensities of a copolymer sample during the synthesis of an A/B copolyester via reactive blending of a mixture of homopolyesters A and B or when a copolymer undergoes partial degradation. The program was first used to simulate literature data consisting of a series of mass spectra of a butadiene/styrene copolymer subjected to partial ozonolysis. It was also used to investigate the role of terminal groups in reactive blending processes. Two models were developed: the first one describes inner-group ester-ester exchange reactions, the second describes the process in which and active terminal groups attacks an ester group. The predictions of the two models are compared with recent experimental mass spectral data concerning a poly(ethylene adipate-co-ethylene terephalate) copolyester.     

Influence of feeding strategies of mixed microbial cultures on the chemical composition and microstructure of copolyesters P(3HB‐co‐3HV) analyzed by NMR and statistical analysis

NMR spectroscopy was applied for quantitative and qualitative characterization of the chemical composition and microstructure of a series of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydoxyvalerate) copolymers, P(3HB‐co‐3HV), synthesized by mixed microbial cultures at several different feeding strategies. The monomer sequence distribution of the bacterially synthesized P(3HB‐co‐3HV) was defined by analysis of their high‐resolution 1D ¹³C NMR and 2D ¹H/¹³C HSQC and ¹H/¹³C HMBC NMR spectra. The results were verified by employment of statistical methods and suggest a block copolymer microstructure of the P(3HB‐co‐3HV) copolymers studied. Definitive distinction between block copolymers or a mixture of random copolymers could not be achieved. NMR spectral analysis indicates that the chemical composition and microstructure of the copolymers can be tuned by choosing a correct feeding strategy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Infrared spectroscopic analysis of poly(methyl acrylate-co-styrene)

Methyl acrylate–styrene copolymers of different copolymer compositions were free-radically prepared. The relative intensities of the carbonyl frequencies of the methyl acrylate units at v 1730 cm^?1 were correlated with the copolymer composition. The positions and shapes of the carbonyl bands in the infrared absorption spectra of the copolymers-dissolved in chloroform, were shown to depend on the composition of the copolymers and upon the presence of different proportions of methyl acrylate centered triads. The results obtained by infrared spectroscopy were compared with those obtained by ¹³C-NMR. Infrared spectra may be used to yield information about both the copolymer composition and the triad sequence distribution.     

Luminescence studies in polymers—III. Copolymers styrene-methylmethacrylate and styrene-methylacrylate

The emission spectra of copolymers styrene-methylmethacrylate and styrene-methylacrylate with various compositions have been analyzed. Films and solutions have been studied at 77 and 300 K. With the exception of glassy solutions at 77 K, normal and excimer fluorescence are emitted. Their relative and absolute intensities vary with temperature and copolymer composition. An interpretation of the results, which takes into account the statistical composition of the copolymers, is proposed. It shows that energy migration can occur from isolated to non-isolated styrene units.     

共聚物红外光谱的小波变换

用傅里叶变换红外光谱研究了辐射合成的丙烯酰胺、丙烯酸钠均聚物水凝胶和几种丙烯酰胺／丙烯酸钠配比不同的共的水凝胶的组成变化，发现共聚物的特征吸收带重叠得比较严重，尤其当丙烯酸单元含量较代时，其特征吸收带大部分则不能分辨，将其红外光谱经波波变换后，这类共聚物的特征吸收带较好地得到分离，成功地提高了红外光谱图的分辨率，有助于更好地定性或定量表征共聚物的组成。     

Triad sequence determination of ethylene–propylene copolymers – application of quantitative 13C NMR

A methodology for acquiring fully quantitative ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectra for high performance ethylene–propylene copolymers has been proposed. To minimize the spectral acquisition time without sacrificing spectral quality, different amounts of chromium(III)acetylacetonate relaxation agent has been added to optimize its concentration. The study demonstrates the critical setting of delay time for determining six triad distributions from eight discrete set of resonances which otherwise leads to inaccurate determination of triad concentrations. It allows precise integral measurements of low intensity resonances depending on copolymer composition, and significant reduction of experimental time.     

Determination in gas chromatography—mass spectrometry data of mass spectra free of background and neighboring substance contributions

The determination in a g.c.—m.s. data matrix by singular value analysis and least squares of the mass spectra of the substances present and of their corresponding resolved g.c. peak profiles has been supplemented by the determination of a background for each mass, assumed to be constant over 10–12 contiguous scans. The norm for the g.c. peaks has been changed to a maximum of one so that the mass spectral intensities are proportional to the true ion currents at the respective g.c. peak maxima. Complete resolved spectra are computed by using all measured masses. Examples are given of close resolutions (less than one scan separation) and multiple overlap resolution (8 overlapping substances). The method is compared with other published clean-up methods.     

Influence of Grafted Chain Length of a Phenolic Copolymer on Its Complex Formation with Poly(vinyl Pyrrolidone) and Poly(ethylene Oxide)

A phenolic copolymer has been grafted with oligomers of different chain lengths. Polymer-polymer complexation has been studied between graft copolymers and nonionic polymers, such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone) and poly(ethylene oxide), in an acetone-methanol mixture by several methods, e.g., viscosity, conductance, and apparent pH measurements. A distinct stepwise complexation between PVP and graft copolymers has been observed. The length of the side chain also seemed to influence interpolymer complex formation. Some of these observations have been interpreted with reference to the actual structure of the graft copolymers.     

An algorithm for determination of the copolymer molecular weight distribution by Markov chain simulation

A simple and general algorithm, convenient for computer implementation, for calculation of the copolymer molecular weight distribution (MWD), its moments, copolymer composition, etc. from standard data has been developed describing copolymerization as a Markovian process. The algorithm is applicable for simulations of multimonomer copolymerization with monomolecular, bimolecular and mixed termination. It can be used for calculating the MWD of copolymers prepared under non-stationary conditions. Explicit formulae have been derived for the above parameters. They are exact even for low-molecular-weight oligomers. The calculation procedure involves nothing but plain matrix operations as matrix multiplication and inversion. For high-molecular-weight copolymers, even simpler dependencies that resemble those used for homopolymers can be used. A very simple numerical test has been proposed for checking their correctness.     

Structural characterization and sequence distributions of polysiloxanes using pyrolysis MS/MS

Novel polysiloxanes, with 4-(dialkylamino)pyridine substituents, are characterized by pyrolysis tandem mass spectrometry. These polymers form abundant cyclic oligomeric ions under both desorption electron ionization (DEI) and desorption chemical ionization (DCI) conditions. Product MS/MS spectra of the cyclic ions reveal characteristic fragmentations under low energy collision activated dissociation. Protonated cyclic oligomers higher than the pentamer are mainly due to the proton bound dimers of lower oligomeric units. The cyclic oligomers are shown to have proton affinities greater than 1000 kJ/mole. It is proposed that thermal depolymerization occurs through an intramolecular siloxane bond rearrangement, which is in agreement with a previously proposed "loop mechanism". Markovian statistical calculations are applied to the DCI mass spectral data in order to determine the sequence distribution of siloxane copolymers. Application of this method show that the monomers in the copolymers examined are non-randomly distributed.     

嵌段共聚物傅里叶变换拉曼光谱

用傅里叶变换拉曼光谱(FT-Paman)研究了聚环氧乙烷-聚环氧丙烷-聚环氧乙烷(PEO-PPO-PEO)嵌段共聚物的无水样品,发现某些谱带对PEO0-PPO-PEO嵌段共聚物的结构和构象变化敏感,其中某些峰的相对强度的PPO/PEO比率和共聚物的构象有关,研究表明PluronicF68和F88具有一些反式构象的螺旋结构,PluronicP103(P123)是无规则结构,其它的嵌段共聚物处于二者之间.     

Grafting on Some Phenolic Copolymer Chains

A phenolic copolymer has been prepared by copolymerization of p-chlorophenol, p-cresol, and formaldehyde in the presence of acid catalyst. The copolymer was partially and completely dehalogenated by a standard method. The dehalogenated copolymer chain had a random distribution of reactive positions which were originally occupied by Cl atoms. Some substituted monomers, oligomers of known structure and molecular weight, and basic polymer chains have been grafted at these reactive positions. The halogen percentage of the grafted copolymers could be calculated on the assumption that all the available reactive positions are attached to the respective units. Reasonably good agreement has been found between the calculated and observed amount of halogen percentage in the grafted copolymers.