FTIR Plastic Analyzer Method Package - Applications

The measurement of a light brown semi-transparent contaminant on a plated item was performed. The figure below shows that the spectral pattern of the acquired infrared spectrum differs from the standard polyethylene (PE).

Plastic Analyzer shows the best match is heated PE. The Thermal-Damaged Library makes it useful for surmising the thermal history of the plastic.

Plastics degrade as they experience molecular cleavage and cross-linking due to heat and light. As a result, in fault analysis and failure analysis, the qualities of deteriorated samples must be analyzed.

The figure at bottom left shows the infrared spectrum of a polypropylene (PP) sample that has been irradiated with UV rays. The UV irradiation has caused the plastic to deteriorate, and it is evident that the shape of the infrared spectrum has changed. The figures at bottom right show the search results from measurements by Plastic Analyzer of a white plastic (PP material) that was left outdoors for an extended period and exposed to UV rays. The infrared spectrum of the sample exposed to UV rays differs from the standard spectrum. Accordingly, in general library searches, different plastics such as polybutene are at the top of the results. In contrast, with Plastic Analyzer, PP denatured by UV rays is the top result.