An analytical procedure was established for the identification and quantitative determination of salts of polyacrylate, acrylate-methacrylate copolymer and acrylate-maleate copolymers in household granular detergents.
The metal salts of these polymers were converted to their methyl esters by diazomethane treatment followed by extraction with chloroform to isolate them from the other components in the detergents. Quantitative determination was conducted by weighing chloroform extracts, with recovery exceeding 90%. A 1H-NMR and pyrolysis GC-MS spectroscopy conducted in conjunction was found to be an adequate means for identifications.
