DIRECT MASS-SPECTROMETRY OF POLYMERS .9. COPOLY(CARBONATE-URETHANES) PREPARED BY REORGANIZATION OF POLYCARBONATES WITH PIPERAZINE

A detailed analysis of the reaction products generated by reorganization of polycarbonates with piperazine, performed by direct mass spectrometry methods, has shown that this reaction actually follows the pathway postulated and that, at 50% piperazine incorporation level, urethanediphenol compounds are almost exclusively produced. This allowed to obtain, by repolymerization with phosgene, alternating copoly(carbonate-urethanes) with thermal stabilities comparable to those of the parent polyurethanes. The primary fragmentation mechanisms in the thermal decomposition of these copolymers were studied by direct pyrolysis into the mass spectrometer. Ester exchange reactions predominate here, causing the formation of cyclic oligomers, which are subsequently cleaved to open-chain oligomers containing hydroxyl end groups.