A new technique for the mass spectrometric study of the pyrolysis products of polystyrene

olystyren e was placed in a small t ube furnace and t he d egradation produ cts evapora ted directly into the ioniza tion chamber of a mass sp ect rom eter. At abou t 330 0 C a fairl y complica ted mass spectrum was observed , extending t o about m ass 520. Major features of t he sp ectrum are a ccoun ted for b y a mixture of mon om er, dimer, t rim er, tetramer, and pen t ame r, with th e first t wo by far t he most a bundan t . The nonvolat ile liquid fraction recovered from p yrolysis of polystyrene when heated t o 80 0 C in t he t ube furna ce gave a sp ect rum nearly identical to t he above p y rol ysis spectrum except that t h e st yrene con tribut ion is a bsent. The technique should be applicable to a wide range of poly mers.