Effects of nano nickel powders addition on flash pyrolysis of poly(ethylene glycol)

Abstract Pure PEG and the mixture of PEG and nano nickel powders (PEG/n-Ni) were pyrolyzed at 500 °C for 5 min in N2 atmosphere. GC/MS and FTIR were employed to detect the volatile products. Some important regularity in the mass spectra of the PEG pyrolysis products was discovered, and 11 series of PEG pyrolysis products were identified. The experimental results show that the nano Ni powders evidently change the relative contents of each products series. The statistical results of the ratio of C–O cleavage to C–C cleavage, as well as the ratio of hydrogenation to dehydrogenation, indicate that nano Ni powders have remarkable effects on the bonds cleavage and free radicals annihilation. The process of hydrogenolysis and hydrogenation were propounded to explain the effects of nano Ni addition on PEG flash pyrolysis.