Polymer and Plastics Chemical Testing

Polymer and plastics chemical testing supporting the entire lifecycle including chemicals analysis of polymer raw materials, resins, plastics and composites.

Chemical testing of polymers and plastics is required to ensure that a material is suitable for its intended application.  Polymer chemical testing is used to identify fundamental structural information including as molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and information on branching.

Chemical testing of a plastic or polymer material can be complex but can provide valuable information on the additives used and other substances present which is important when trying to understand material performance. Additives, in particular, can impact the polymer physical properties, stability / stabilization and general durability over the lifecycle of the polymer material. Other substances present include catalyst residues and volatile organic contaminants (VOCs).

Our polymer scientists apply the most appropriate chemical tests to get the data you need to understand  your product’s quality and performance. With expertise in polymer formulation support, our experts can support your product development, competitor polymer material deformulation, comparative composition analysis of blends and regulatory submission data requirements. We can also provide advanced analysis for additives and fillers present. Quality control of polymer raw materials and finished, formulated, products can be achieved through a wide range of chemical tests and techniques.

Polymer Chemistry Services

Supporting the entire polymer lifecycle our teams provide information about your polymer product or raw materials including; molecular weight (MW) of polymers, structure, chemistry of fractions, end groups, tacticity, unreacted monomer and oligomers, co-polymer content and blend composition, catalyst residues, contamination analysis, chemical trace analysis and plastics and polymers volatile organic compounds testing.

Polymer Chemical Analysis Technology

Our polymer chemical laboratories utilise a wide range of techniques including spectroscopy, microscopy and chromatography, with a combined knowledge base which includes method development and validation, and with industry standard test methods to ensure a material meets compliance requirements. We possess a wealth of troubleshooting experience and considerable failure analysis insight, as part of our broad polymer and plastic identification testing expertise. Our experts bring you insight into your material’s chemical composition and 'fingerprint', helping you to understand degradation and performance over the products lifetime: invaluable for ensuring that the material is the optimum choice.

• Spectroscopy – Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR) with ATR, FTIR microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Raman microscopy, UV/Vis spectrometry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR)
• Chromatography (GPC / HT- GPC, GC, GC-MS, GC/GC-MS HPLC, LC-MS)
• Thermal DMTA, DSC, TGA, DMA
• Elemental Analysis – includes ICP-OES, XRF and SEM-EDAX
• Microscopy
• Plus a range of classical and wet chemical techniques such as titrations

Intertek’s scientists provide integrated polymer chemical and physical testing, consultancy and formulation support for all types of polymer materials and a range of applications such as aerospace and automotive through to packaging, medical devices and consumer products. With over 30 years’ experience in polymer chemical testing and a global laboratory network located in Netherlands, UK and Switzerland and the US, we are the partner of choice for many of the world’s most innovative developers and manufacturers of polymers and plastics.