Direct observation of excimer-laser photoablation products from polymers by picosecond-uv-laser mass spectroscopy

Excimer laser (248 nm, 15 ns) photoablation products from the polymers PMMA and polystyrene are directly observed using picosecond uv laser (290 nm, 1 ps) ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. Species heavier than the monomer masses are detected, which cannot be attributed to simple direct fragments of the polymer chains, but rather show the importance of fast chemistry and/or photochemistry during the ablation process. © 1987 Springer-Verlag.