Microstructure of co‐polymers by fast‐atom bombardment mass spectrometry

Abstract
The assumption on which both the structural analysis of polymers and the sequential of co‐polymers by fast‐atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB‐MS) is based, is that the ion detected in the FAB spectra do originate from species already present in the polymeric samples, and that the bombardment by fast atoms does not produce the fragmentation of macromelecules. FAB spectra do not yield direct structural information on large macromolecules, but such information can be deduced from the structural analysis of relatively low molecular weight species. Therefore, in a series of recent studies, FAB‐MS has been used to identify the oligomers formed in the partial degradation of several co‐polymers, and the results obtained have yieled detailed information on the microstructure of the materials investigated.