Director The Vibrational Spectroscopy Laboratory houses several modified infrared and Raman spectrometers which are able to accommodate unconventional sample types. Available to the polymer research community are three Raman instruments incorporating dispersive or Fourier transform capabilities, a Bruker FT spectrometer, an HG 25 high throughput laser spectrometer, and a U-1000 high resolution laser spectrometer. The infrared instruments include Bruker 38-FTIR and Bruker 98 vacuum FTIR spectrometers, a Nicolet 60SXB FTIR spectometer, and a Perkin Elmer 2000 FTIR spectrometer. These films can then be transferred to solid surfaces for further processing and analysis. Spectroscopic analysis software, developed in house, extends the laboratory's commercial modeling packages to facilitate spectral comparisons and lends insight into the static and dynamic behavior of polymer chains.
Laboratory is well equipped to meet the challenges that new polymers present.
Both spectrophotometers are dual anode, fixed lens instruments and one is equipped with an ion source, enabling ion scattering spectroscopy. This instrumentation also allows for the non-destructive assessment of sample lyophobicity. Training or consultation is provided by the director.