LC-MS of Polyethylene

[lch988]

Hi all,

I am looking to analyze a mixture of low molecular weight PE (polyethylene) with LC-MS.

But first I need to find a way to dissolve the PE. May I know anyone has experience with it?

Can PE dissolve in solvents like DMF or THF? At what temperature?

Thanks a million!

[sassman]

Low molecular weight PE will dissolve in THF. What ionization source are you planning to use? I doubt that you will be able to ionize PE, so you probably are not going to have much luck with LC/MS. The common method is to use GPC with RI detection.

[Bryan Evans]

Imtakt has a new method now for analyzing PEGs using LC-ELSD.
The column used is Cadenza CW-C18:

PEG 2000:
http://www.imtakt.com/TecInfo/TI380E.pdf

PEG 2000, PEG 6000, PEG 12000:
http://www.imtakt.com/TecInfo/TI381E.pdf

For PEG 2000, when used with acetonitirle, the polymers are fully separated from eachother.

For larger PEGs, when used with THF, all polymers elute at once. So this
can be used to quantitate total PEG in solution.