Here's a paper:
ScienceDirect - Talanta : Analysis of thermal decomposition products arising from polyvinyl chloride analogs by supersonic jet/multiphoton ionization/mass spectrometry
Analysis of thermal decomposition products arising from polyvinyl chloride analogs by supersonic jet/multiphoton ionization/mass spectrometry
T. Urabe and T. Imasaka,
Department of Chemical Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
Received 21 December 1999; revised 11 April 2000; accepted 20 April 2000. Available online 21 August 2000.
Abstract
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) were thermally decomposed at 200–500°C, and the reaction products measured by supersonic jet/multiphoton ionization/mass spectrometry. No precursor molecules of dioxins, such as chlorobenzene, were observed from PVC, although benzene was produced as one of the major components. On the other hand, a large peak corresponding to chlorobenzene was observed, when CPVC was used as a sample. These results suggest that the release of hydrogen chloride and aromatic ring formation occur efficiently and produce chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons only when excess chlorine atoms are present in the chain of PVC. This method, which has very high selectivity is preferred for trace analysis of specific compounds such as dioxin precursors in a complex mixture. Isomer-selective analysis, e.g. detection of o-, m-, and p-dichlorobenzenes, is also demonstrated in this study.
Author Keywords: Supersonic jet spectrometry; Multiphoton ionization; Mass spectrometry; Polyvinyl chloride; Polyvinylidene chloride; Pyrolysis