Headspace solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry reveals a correlation between the degradation product pattern and changes in the mechanical properties during the thermooxidation of in-plant recycled polyamide 6,6

The increased susceptibility of in-plant recycled polyamide 6,6 toward thermooxidation was shown by headspace solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS), tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A correlation between the deterioration in mechanical properties and the formation of degradation products due to thermooxidation was found, and the most prominent decrease in mechanical properties coincided with the largest increase in the abundance of degradation products. The recycled materials had a shorter induction period toward oxidation, and their mechanical properties deteriorated faster than the mechanical properties of virgin material. The same trend was observed with HS-SPME/GC-MS because degradation products were found for recycled materials after oxidation times shorter than those for virgin material. Furthermore, larger amounts of degradation products were formed in the recycled materials. The high sensitivity of HS-SPME/GC-MS as an analytical tool was demonstrated because it was able to detect changes caused by oxidation considerably earlier than the other methods. Unlike DSC and FTIR, it could also show differences between samples recycled for different times. Four groups of degradation products—cyclic imides, pyridines, chain fragments, and cyclopentanones—were identified in thermooxidized polyamide 6,6. After 1200 h of thermooxidation, 1-pentyl-2,5-pyrrolidinedione was the most abundant degradation product. Approximately four times more 1-pentyl-2,5-pyrrolidinedione was formed in polyamide recycled three times than in virgin polyamide. Pyridines and chain fragments behaved toward oxidation and repeated processing like cyclic imides; that is, their amounts increased during oxidation, and larger amounts were formed in recycled materials than in virgin material. The cyclopentanone derivatives were present already in unaged material, and their amounts decreased during oxidation. Cyclopentanones were not formed because of the thermooxidation of polyamide 6,6. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3396–3407, 2002