Identification of an Unknown Thermoplastic
Using analytical methods of charactorization to identify an unknown engineering thermoplastic
Description
In this project, I was tasked with identifying an unknown engineering thermoplastic, through various analytical methods to determine its identity. Thermal properties and compositional information were revealed through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. Dynamic mechanical analysis was used to assess the material's thermo-viscoelastic behavior and mechanical properties. Optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were conducted to study the topology and structure of the material, while energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to study the atomic and molecular composition of the material.
The unknown material (“unknown H”) was determined to be a carbon fiber reinforced semi-crystalline polyamide thermoplastic. The matrix material’s properties most closely resemble those of a two-component blend, containing both aromatic and aliphatic polyamides. The real identity of the polymer was later revealed to be lxef polyarylamide (PARA), which was consistent with our predictions.
Collaborators
