Organosoluble oligomer obtained by glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and its detailed structural characterization by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Abstract

Organosoluble oligomers were obtained by the depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) with an aliphatic glycol at 260-280°C and then characterized by 1H NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The detailed analysis of their spectrum revealed that for an aliphatic primary diol, the transesterification smoothly occurred in the reaction media.