Abstract
Epoxy laminates composed of a brominated bisphenol A (BPA) epoxy resin and an epoxy o-cresol novolac resin (ECN) were characterized using pyrolysis-gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (PY-GC-MS) and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation- (THM-) GC-MS. The brominated BPA epoxy resin could be debrominated by PY-GC-MS, but the debromination by THM-GC-MS did not proceed and the resultant was detected as brominated BPA-methylated derivatives which could easily be analysed. In the case of laminates including the brominated BPA epoxy resin and ECN, it was difficult to analyse phenols derived from the novolac by single-shot method using PY-GC-MS because of BPA decomposition. However, by double-shot method combining PY-GC-MS and THM-GC-MS, epoxy laminates including the novolac could successfully be determined by the detection of several phenols originating in the novolac without being much affected by BPA decomposition.
