First of all, the base material is decisive and a distinction can be made between several classes of plastics. Standard plastics such as PE, PP or PS are often found in everyday use, while technical plastics such as PA or POM are often used in industrial applications. For special applications, tailor-made high-performance plastics such as PEEK, PES, PAI or PI are used.

But what base material is your plastic made of and what is its purity? We use FTIR spectroscopy to answer this question qualitatively. We also offer microscopy FTIR spectroscopy for smaller plastic particles, thin layers or other samples where a high spatial resolution is decisive. For quantitative analysis, we perform investigations using pyrolysis gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (pyrolysis GC/MS).
 

By using suitable fillers and additives, the base material used can be optimized for a variety of applications. Fibres (CFRP or GFRP) give the product a higher strength, plasticizers increase the elasticity, other additives can increase the chemical resistance or improve the appearance.

In our laboratories, we can examine the type and quantity of fillers used in detail. For inorganic components, we carry out EDX element analyses including mapping, with which we can determine not only the element composition but also the local distribution of the elements semi quantitatively. For the quantitative chemical analysis of volatile organic additives, we recommend gas chromatography with mass spectrometry couplings after thermodesorption (TD-GC/MS) or in the vapor space above the sample at elevated temperatures (Headspace GC/MS).