TY - GEN A1 - Barner‐Kowollik, C. A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana A1 - Gründling, T. A1 - Weidner, Steffen ED - Barner-Kowollik, C. ED - Gründling, T. ED - Falkenhagen, Jana ED - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Outlook N2 - The synthesis of macromolecules of an increasing architectural diversity and complexity is the lifeblood of modern macromolecular chemistry, allowing for specialized applications in fields ranging from industrial coatings to medical drug delivery systems. The high complexity of modern polymers with regard to molar mass, chemical functionality, composition, and topology requires a versatile technique for their comprehensive characterization. Today, mass spectrometry, in combination with the soft ionization techniques ESI and MALDI, has been established as an extremely valuable tool for the analysis of polymeric materials. KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Polymers PY - 2012 SN - 978-3-527-32924-3 SN - 978-3-527-64182-6 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527641826.ch14 SP - 467 EP - 468 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-65739 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana A1 - Weidner, Steffen ED - Barner-Kowollik, C. ED - Gründling, T. ED - Falkenhagen, Jana ED - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Hyphenated techniques N2 - Hyphenation of techniques has become a versatile tool in polymer analysis. It has been demonstrated that the complexity and heterogeneity of modern polymers and copolymers, in particular, could only be determined by a combination of several methods. With this regard, a chromatographic separation in various thermodynamic modes combined with mass spectral identification of polymer species provides new insights in polymer synthesis, modification, and degradation. Both methods are widely complementary and can therefore often compensate each other’s drawbacks. The development of suitable coupling interfaces, the introduction of AP devices, and an increasing application of ESI pushed polymer analysis toward new regions. Future developments in the field of MS detectors, lasers and software, as well new pressure-stable stationary chromatographic phases will aid in increasing the importance and acceptance of LC-MS coupling methods and will enable new applications in sophisticated polymer analysis. KW - MALDI KW - Chromatography KW - Coupling techniques PY - 2012 SN - 978-3-527-32924-3 SN - 978-3-527-64182-6 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527641826.ch7 SP - 209 EP - 235 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-26395 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Barner‐Kowollik, C. A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana A1 - Gründling, T. A1 - Weidner, Steffen ED - Barner-Kowollik, C. ED - Gründling, T. ED - Falkenhagen, Jana ED - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Introduction N2 - The book opens with an overview of the available mass analyzers. Special consideration is given by the authors Steven Blanksby and Gene Hart-Smith to their uses in polymer chemistry. Various ionization techniques applicable in polymer mass spectrometry are then explored in-depth by Anthony Gies. Chrys Wesdemiotis subsequently takes a close look at tandem mass spectrometry, a highly important tool for the elucidation of polymer structure and one of the major contemporary fields of development in the mass spectrometry sector. Sarah Trimpin and colleagues follow with their contribution, describing gas-phase ion-separation procedures as applied to synthetic polymers. The ionization process of polymers via the MALDI approach requires a careful design of the sample preparation procedures. Scott Hanton and Kevin Owens therefore provide a close look at how polymer samples are best prepared. Synthetic polymers are not only important materials in their own right, but are also frequently employed to (covalently) modify variable surfaces. Surface analysis is notoriously challenging and a range of techniques have to be employed to map the chemical characteristics of surface-bound macromolecules. Christine Mahoney and Steffen Weidner provide a detailed description of the part which surface-sensitive mass spectrometric techniques play in elucidating a polymer surface’s structure. Soft ionization mass spectrometry techniques can be especially powerful when combined with chromatographic techniques such as size exclusion chromatography (SEC), liquid adsorption chromatography at critical conditions (LACCCs) or both. Jana Falkenhagen and Steffen Weidner explore the wide variety of so-called hyphenated techniques and impressively demonstrate the information depth that can be attained by employing such technologies. While arguably the majority of molecular weight determination is carried out via SEC often equipped with refractive index as well as light scattering detectors, Till Gruendling, William Wallace, and colleagues demonstrate how MALDI-MS as well as SEC coupled to ESI-MS can be employed to deduce absolute molecular weight distributions. The chapter also provides an overview of contemporary automated data processing techniques for mass spectrometric data. Most polymers generated are arguably copolymers and it thus is mandatory to dedicate an entire chapter to the analysis of copolymers via mass spectrometry — Ulrich Schubert and Anna Crecelius provide an in-depth analysis. The field of living/controlled radical polymerization provides fascinating high precision avenues for the construction of complex macromolecular architectures and enables the generation of polymers with a high degree of end-group fidelity, which are often employed in cross-discipline applications (e.g., in biosynthetic conjugates). Soft ionization mass spectrometry plays an integral part in unravelling the mechanism of living/controlled radical polymerization processes as well as in the characterization of macromolecular building blocks: Christopher Barner-Kowollik and colleagues take a close look at the current state-of-the-art. Similarly, polymers generated via conventional radical polymerization can be readily investigated via mass spectrometry. Here, especially the investigation of the initiation process and of the generated end-group type is of high importance — Michael Buback, Greg Russell, and colleagues report. Finally, Grazyna Adamus and Marek Kowalczuk survey the field of mass spectrometry applied to polymers prepared via nonradical methods such as coordination polymerization, polycondensation, and polyaddition. The question of polymer stability and a detailed understanding of polymer degradation processes on a molecular level are of paramount importance for an evaluation of the performance of a polymer in chemical applications or as a material. Sabrina Carroccio and colleagues survey the field of soft ionization mass spectrometry applied to the molecular study of degradation processes at the book’s conclusion. KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Polymers PY - 2012 SN - 978-3-527-32924-3 SN - 978-3-527-64182-6 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527641826.ch SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-65732 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -