Hydrothermal polymerization towards fully biobased polyazomethines.

Microwave assisted polycondensation for the synthesis of (partially) biobased polyazomethines in water (hydrothermal polymerization) was investigated for the first time in this study. The polyazomethines prepared via this environmentally friendly and simple method show comparable characteristics as the polymers prepared via traditional methods in organic solvents.

Ambient Characterization of Synthetic Fibers by Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

Direct analysis of synthetic fibers under ambient conditions is highly desired to identify the polymer, the finishes applied and irregularities that may compromise its performance and value. In this paper, laser ablation electrospray ionization ion mobility time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LAESI-IMS-TOF-MS) was used for the analysis of synthetic polymers and fibers. The key to this analysis was the absorption of laser light by aliphatic and aromatic nitrogen functionalities in the polymers.

MALDI-TOF MS stability study of model poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide)s.

In the present study, we address the possibility of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-time-of-flight MS analysis-induced chain fragmentation in poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPD-T) by considering two possible sources: (1) grinding-induced fragmentation resulting from the evaporation-grinding MALDI sample preparation method (E-G method) and (2) in-source/metastable fragmentation induced by the MALDI laser. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical study found, with a high probability, that obtaining MALDI spectra with the effective laser area as large as possible (the "fanned-out" setting) did not cause any chain fragmentation due to the E-G MALDI sample preparation method, even when three additional grinding steps were used. However, the effect of laser fluence was less clear.