A direct injection gas‐liquid chromatographic method to monitor polymer melt devolatilization: Methyl methacrylate in poly(methyl methacrylate)

Abstract

A new capillary gas chromatography method to monitor a residual monomer in a polymer is described. A short (5 m) crosslinked methyl silicone fused silica capillary column with flame ionization detection gave good separation efficiency and parts‐per‐million detection limits. Capillary gas‐liquid chromatography was superior to packed column analysis (SP 1000) in terms of both analytical utility and ease of use. This technique may prove useful for monitoring other monomer/polymer systems.