Determination of a hindered phenol-type antioxidant by pyrolysis-GC/MS in the presence of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide

Pyrolysis-GC/MS in the presence of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) wa s applied to the determination of one of the popular hindered phenol-type a ntioxidants, Irganox1010. The Irganox1010 contents for several polyethylene (PE) and poly(butylene terephthalate) [PBT] standard samples, prepaired by adding 0.05 to 0.5 wt% of Irganox1010, were determined on the basis of the peak intensity of the methylated compound formed during pyrolysis in the p resence of TMAH at 250 degrees C, The relative standard deviations (RSD) of this method were within 7% with a pretreatment to add not only TMAH, but a lso lauric acid and acetone for PE samples, and within 3% to add TMAH alone for PET samples. This PyGC technique in the presence of TMAH can be used t o determine the Irganox1010 content precisely and rapidly enough to be appl ied to determine the other phenol antioxidants and evaluation of the degrad ation process of polymer materials.