Advanced Solutions for Creating and Analyzing Polymers

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.