The polycarbonate production industry produces more than 2.5 million tons of material annually. Polycarbonate resins are known for their transparency, impact resistance, and thermal resistance. Tornado’s Raman Spectrometer based Analyzers can be used for analyzing and quantify starting material such as diphenyl carbonate and phenol, measuring reaction processes, and even examining the final structure of the product. Some of the defining characteristics of the final product directly relate to the ordered structure. Raman spectroscopy has the ability to analyze the ordered structures of polycarbonate in process to allow detailed analysis of product suitability. Raman can also be used to monitor the reactions that produce the polycarbonate, and to quantify the starting materials, the product, the residual monomer and the side products in the process in real time. This in-line monitoring can help assure product quality and integrity and help to maintain production efficiency, thereby reducing waste and downtime. See how HTVS-enabled process Raman spectroscopy from Tornado, a Bruker Company can optimize your polycarbonate process.

Polymer extrusion is a high-volume manufacturing process which converts raw plastic pellets into a uniform material. Tornado’s Raman Analyzer has been shown to be suitable for characterizing Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) solid, the polymer of interest in this case. PET is used in plastic water bottles and as an additive woven into polyester yarn for clothing. By using Raman spectroscopy for in-line measurements of the polymer melt, the material properties can be determined in real time; suppliers can be characterized and possible degradants and impurities can be detected allowing the process engineer to react quicker to ever-changing production conditions.

Polymerization is the process of combining small molecular subunits (monomers) into a covalently bonded chain. These covalent bonds influence the properties of the polymer and determine properties such as chain length, side groups, branching and cross-linking. Molecular vibrations modifying the dipole moment of a molecule are seen by IR spectroscopy, whereas polarizability vibrations are detected by Raman spectroscopy. 

Tornado’s Raman Spectrometer Analyzers can be an effective technique for the monitoring and analysis of various polymers such as; polyethylene, polyurethane, polypropylene, poly-vinyl chloride, polystyrene and many other different polymer types.

Photopolymers possess unique capabilities, including the possibility for ambient temperature curing and the potential for control over where and when the polymer cures. These capabilities have given rise to a variety of products and processes including dental materials, contact lenses, coatings, microfluidic device fabrication, tissue engineering matrices, and photolithography.

The use of the Tornado Raman spectrometer enabled accurate diagnostic tracking of the cure cycle of the photopolymer. This led to a level of understanding of the chemical changes during curing that had not been previously elucidated. The full resin cure percentage and the rate of cure can now be modeled with this approach. This level of process understanding was greatly enhanced with the sensitivity and speed of measurement facilitated by the HyperFlux™ PRO Plus spectrometer.

Latex represents one of the more ubiquitous commercial use polymers. The Tornado Raman has proven to be very effective at monitoring polymerization progress, reaction end point and residual monomer.