Abstract
Since being recognised as a potential emissive source, plastics in heritage collections are being investigated to understand the chemical compounds they release and how they might affect the stability of other heritage objects. There is a requirement for non-invasive methods of analyses to identify unknown plastics and the emitted volatiles they generate. Therefore, Tenax-TA sampling tubes were used to collect the emitted volatiles from 41 samples of 9 polymer types of varying formulation, provenance and age. Thermal desorption-gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) has been successfully used to separate and identify the emissions of the 41 samples at 23 C, after heating to 70 C and after accelerated degradation.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Polymer Degradation and Stability |
Volume | 107 |
Early online date | 24 Dec 2013 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 30 Sept 2014 |
Keywords
- plastic
- volatile organic compounds
- thermal desorption
- gas chromatography
- accerlerated degradation