Thermofraktographie zur Schnellanalyse von Kunststoffen. 3. Mitteilung

When heating vinyl polymers within the temperature gradient of 50–450° C, they are fragmented in certain temperature ranges to defined products. These products are fractionated on the TLC-layer and subsequently chromatographed. Based on the thermofractograms obtained identification of the starting material can be made. From polyvinyl esters, e.g., the corresponding acid is obtained and copolymers yield the different acids. Thermolysis of polyvinyl carbazole yields vinyl carbazole and vinyl pyrrolidone and pyrrolidone are obtained from polyvinyl pyrrolidone. Polymethacrylate is fragmented to the corresponding methacrylate, and acrylate if obtained from polyacrylate. Evaluation of the thermofractograms leads in part to new conceptions about structures and cleavage mechanisms of such polymers.