Hydrolysis kinetics of ATBS polymers at elevated temperature, via 13C NMR spectroscopy, as basis for accelerated aging tests

A noticeable rate difference between pH 6 and pH 7 suggested that historically performed long term aging tests, in un-buffered solutions, may have yielded too optimistic predictions. Hence, a recommendation following the present work would be to critically evaluate whether to include pH buffering in future polymer stability tests.