PYROLYSIS-GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS-SPECTROMETRY INVESTIGATION OF A THERMALLY CURED POLYMER

The curing of the Matrimid 5292(R) polyimide system was studied by pyr olysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Pyrolysis products charac teristic of both initial components and the cured polymer were identif ied. Changes in the pattern of pyrolysis products could be related to the progress of polymerization. Amounts of methylphenol isomers (m/z 1 08), 4-succinimido-4'-aminodiphenylmethane (m/z 265), and 2-(2-propeny l)-4-methylphenol were found to increase as degree of cure increases. Amounts of O,O'-diallyl bisphenol A (m/z 293) produced by pyrolysis de creased with increasing cure. Principal component and canonical variat e analysis were used to visualize systematic trends in selected ion in tensities from the pyrolysis data. Loading weights derived from orthog onal canonical variate analysis were also found to be useful in identi fying pyrolysis products related to percentage cure. These results sup port the use of Py-GC/MS for monitoring the degree of cure of polymer systems. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.