Compositional analysis of fluorinated and unfluorinated acrylic copolymers

The monomeric components of a series of lattices suitable as protective coatings for the safeguard of cultural heritage, and containing unfluorinated and partially fluorinated acrylic units were determined by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Their identification was possible on the basis of a good knowledge of the degradative behavior, also gained through the direct study of different reference fluoropolymers, which enabled to distinguish between monomers and monomer-related products of degradation. All the samples were identified as copolymers of an acrylic unit, either partially fluorinated or unfluorinated, with a methacrylic unit. Only in two cases different amounts of styrene as monomeric component were also identified.