A new approach of characterizing the hydrolytic degradation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) by MALDI-MS

The hydrolytic degradation of technical poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was investigated by means of different methods such as size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), viscometry, light-scattering, thin-layer chromatography, end-group titration, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). The long-term degradation was simulated by exposing PET filament yarns to aqueous neutral conditions at 90°C for up to 18 weeks. By means of MALDI-MS and thin-layer chromatography, the formation of different oligomers was obtained during polymer degradation. As expected, an ester scission process was found generating acid terminated oligomers (H-[GT]m-OH) and T-[GT]m-OH and ethylene glycol terminated oligomers (H-[GT]m-G), where G is an ethylene glycol unit and T is a terephthalic acid unit. Additionally, the scission of the ester bonds during the chemical treatment led to a strong decrease in the number of cyclic oligomers ([GT]m). The occurrence of di-acid terminated species demonstrated a high degree of degradation.