The use of analytical pyrolysis1 with gas chromatogra-
phy/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to study the structure
of polymeric material must be based on an understand-
ing of how these large molecules behave at elevated
temperatures. The utility of the technique is based on
the application of thermal energy to produce volatile
fragments and products from a macromolecule – com-
pounds capable of being analyzed using GC/MS. The
production of these analytes must, of course, be repro-
ducible and follow chemical principles which permit
the interpretation of results applied to unknown polymers.
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