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Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for polymer identification

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Abstract

This study aims at differentiating several organic materials, particularly polymers, by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy. The goal is to apply this technique to the fields of polymer recycling and cultural heritage conservation. We worked with some usual polymers families: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyoxymethylene, (POM), poly(vinyl chloride), polytetrafluoroethylene, polyoxyethylene (POE), and polyamide for the aliphatic ones, and poly(butylene terephthalate), acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene, polystyrene, and polycarbonate for the aromatic ones. The fourth harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (266 nm) in ambient air at atmospheric pressure was used. A careful analysis of the C2 Swan system (0,0) band in polymers containing no C–C (POM), few C–C (POE), or aromatic C–C linkages led us to the conclusion that the C2 signal might be native, i.e., the result of direct ablation from the sample. With use of these results, aliphatic and aromatic polymers could be differentiated. Further data treatments, such as properly chosen line ratios, principal component analysis, and partial least squares regression, were evaluated. It was shown that many polymers could be separated, including PE and PP, despite their similar chemical structures.

LIBS analysis for cultural heritage conservation

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Abbreviations

ABS:

acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene

ICCD:

intensified charge-coupled device

LIBS:

laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

NIR:

near IR

PA:

polyamide

PBT:

poly(butylene terephthalate)

PC:

polycarbonate

PCA:

principal component analysis

PdMS:

polydimethylsiloxane

PE:

polyethylene

PLS:

partial least squares

POE:

polyoxyethylene

POM:

polyoxymethylene

PP:

polypropylene

PS:

polystyrene

PTFE:

polytetrafluoroethylene

PVC:

poly(vinyl chloride)

SNR:

signal-to-noise ratio

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from ADEME (Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Énergie) and ANRT (Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie). We also want to especially acknowledge J. Yu and V. Motto-Ros (Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Ionique et Moléculaire, Lyon, France) for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CRITT Matériaux Alsace, 19 rue de St Junien, 67300, Schiltigheim, France

    Sylvain Grégoire, Marjorie Boudinet, Frédéric Pelascini & Fabrice Surma

  2. Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historiques, 29 rue de Paris, 77420, Champs-sur-Marne, France

    Sylvain Grégoire & Vincent Detalle

  3. Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS and University of Strasbourg, 23 rue de Loess, 67034, Strasbourg Cedex, France

    Yves Holl

Authors
  1. Sylvain Grégoire
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  2. Marjorie Boudinet
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  3. Frédéric Pelascini
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  4. Fabrice Surma
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  5. Vincent Detalle
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  6. Yves Holl
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Correspondence to Yves Holl.

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Grégoire, S., Boudinet, M., Pelascini, F. et al. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for polymer identification. Anal Bioanal Chem 400, 3331–3340 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-4898-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-4898-2

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