Degradation study of unsaturated anhydrides by reversed-phase high- performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

In this report, the applicability of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to the degradation and kinetic studies of unsaturated anhydrides is explored. Under the appropriate HPLC conditions, the separation and determination of anhydrides were achieved. After comparing their stabilities in methanol, acetonitrile and pure water, the hydrolytic behavior of anhydrides was further evaluated using varying proportions of aqueous phase and acidity for hydrolysis. On the basis of a nucleophilic- attack pathway, the stability and hydrolytic velocity of the anhydrides were compared. The results showed that the hydrolytic processes of the anhydrides could be described with first-order equations, and the corresponding hydrolytic rate constants were calculated from the experimental data.