Raman spectroscopy for polymer characterization in an industrial environment

In this paper we discuss the use of Raman spectroscopy for characterising polymers both in the laboratory and also in-situ at the production line. We show how polymer crystallinity can be followed during extrusion and drawing, and describe the compositional analysis of cross-linked acrylic terpolymers in a polymerisation reactor. We also discuss problems which can arise such as sample fluorescence from moving polymers, distortion of relative band intensities due to chromatic aberration, and sampling difficulties with turbid solutions.