Search
Advanced solutions for creating and analyzing polymers in the lab
Lab scientists in manufacturing and research and development need advanced solutions to analyze polymers for product quality assurance and quality control verification, failure analysis, deformulation, and product development. Whether you need to conduct chemical analysis, compounding and extrusion, in-line thickness and basis weight measurement, elemental analysis, rheological analysis, or structural analysis to help ensure your products are meeting specifications, or if you are trying to develop new products, our solutions will help you drive innovation and productivity in polymer analysis.
Manipulating the molecular structure of polymers leads to new plastics that perform better in daily life. Knowing and having the right tools to identify, quantify and formulate polymer constituents is essential in determining which fillers and additives will expand possibilities.
Discover new plastics
Examine the chemical composition of polymers and constituents to improve the development, quality and performance of parts and products
Our analytical solutions help customers drive innovation and productivity in polymer analysis, encompassing the design, characterization, and lab-to-production scale of polymeric materials across many industries. For more than 50 years, the Nicolet brand has been synonymous with leading infrared spectroscopy technologies to help enable accurate chemical characterization of materials. This expertise has since expanded to other analytical techniques such as Raman, XPS, and NMR to provide labs with a complete analytical solution for their polymeric materials.
Compounding is employed to mix a polymer matrix with different additives to achieve a specific material behavior. Extrusion is used to determine the final form of polymers and plastics, from small sample amounts during initial product development through to full-scale manufacturing processes.
Mixing changes material behavior
Produce polymers in the desired form, from raw pellets to finished goods
Reliable extrusion and compounding tools help ensure that final products such as pipes, films, coatings, etc. have the desired physical properties. Our microcompounders and twin-screw extruders are well-suited for research and development in the polymer sector; each offering a compact footprint, intuitive design, and accessories to fit a wide range of applications. Modular Torque Rheometers for comprehensive material characterization. This modular system starts with a torque rheometer drive that can be connected to an interchangeable mixer, single-screw extruder, or conical/parallel twin-screw extruders. Analyze material properties, simulate production processes, and perform capillary rheology to determine flow characteristics under real process conditions.
Identify polymers and control impurities through elemental analysis with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry and elemental analyzers. XRF is ideally suited to analyze and quantify various elements down to sub-ppm levels. It provides critical insight into additives or contaminants, particularly in regulated environments.
Quantifying elements provides critical insight
Gain insight into composition, crystallinity and orientation
We’ve supplied X-ray analytical solutions globally for polymer analysis across many industries such as transportation, construction, food, pharmaceuticals, academic research, petroleum, and electronics for over 80 years. We offer proven, cost-effective XRF systems to advance your capabilities in polymer analysis and development.
Process mass spectrometry is widely used in both research and manufacturing of polymers which can be utilized in the manufacturing of rubber and elastomers, textiles and fibers, coatings and paints, adhesives and sealants, biomedical polymers, and packaging. These industries rely on mass spectrometry to develop the perfect catalyst to ensure polymer attributes and quality while at the production phase the same analyzer monitors full scale manufacturing of polymers at multiple reactors.
Enhanced polymer production and quality control
Continuous monitoring and control of polymer production processes help ensure high-quality output and efficient operation
Thermo Scientific process mass spectrometers provide real-time composition data of complex gas streams at the reaction stage of polymer development and manufacturing. This enables producers to create polymers with specific attributes while simultaneously lowering manufacturing costs through process optimization. A single mass spectrometer can report gas stream compositions from polyethylene and polypropylene processes in just a few seconds, so a single analyzer can cover the work of multiple process gas chromatographs without compromising measurement quality and at a lower cost point.
For manufacturers operating continuous web processes, an effective web gauging system is the key to meeting stringent product quality specifications with high efficiency. Offering continuous, in-line thickness and basis weight measurement, such systems help enable the precise process control required for competitive economics.
Effective thickness and basis weight measurement for a diverse range of flat sheet materials
Produce high-performance products, minimize waste, maximize throughput, and optimize process economics
Thermo Scientific web gauging solutions can be used to achieve thinner and more uniform layers, to implement layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly and create precise multi-layer structures with controlled basis weight/thickness, and to innovate with new materials.
The diversity of products that benefit from such technology is considerable, spanning a range from extruded plastic films and coatings to food packaging, building materials, non-wovens and Li-ion batteries. Tailoring solutions to both product and process requirements is critical.
Polymers are used for a broad variety of applications such as casings, packaging, and composite materials. For these applications polymers are processed at elevated temperatures in a molten state.
Due to their chemical structure and high molecular weight, polymers exhibit a complex flow and deformation behavior -- showing both viscous and elastic properties. Knowing the viscoelastic properties of a polymeric material is therefore essential to optimize formulations and production processes.
Discover the viscoelastic properties of your polymers
Analyze to help manage flow and deformation behavior polymers
Our portfolio of Thermo Scientific HAAKE rheometers is widely recognized for accuracy and ease of use in QC, product development, and research environments. The instruments are designed to reliably measure the mechanical properties of polymers in different states, giving you the insight needed to enhance formulations and blends and to adapt processes to ensure the desired product properties.
To address that demand for new materials, scientists are working to improve the selectivity, activity, and stability of catalyst particles, as well as engineering high quality polymer-based structures and organic or composite materials.
Stronger, lighter, and more flexible materials
Observing the structure of a material at various scales is key to understanding the performance
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a well-established technique for materials science research. With unique, dedicated environmental chambers, it can enable in situ dynamic experiments on materials in their natural states.
We’ve been developing global solutions in X-ray analysis for over 80 years across many industries. That expertise allows us to offer proven, cost-effective XRD solutions for high-quality powder diffraction analyses and complementary X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology for the elemental analysis of polymers.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.