Qualitative Analysis of High Density Polyethylene Using FTIR Spectroscopy

Abstract

FTIR spectroscopic technique is projected in the present work to make complete qualitative analysis on high density polyethylene (HDPE) and commercial HDPE polymers. Infrared spectra have been used for the molecular structure study of the repeating unit of polyethylene. The qualitative analysis of the commercial HDPE samples has been made by evaluating the internal standards with the standard source sample as the reference. The internal standards are ratios indicative of the quality of the sample. The internal standards are computed for certain specific modes of vibration and are compared to identify the quality and purity of the samples. Thus, FTIR spectral measurements have been made to differentiate the commercial HDPE samples with the source HDPE. The growth of polyethylene products has acquired enormous heights owing to its application as insulating material. The dielectric constants have been determined for all polymer samples in the GHz range using the microwave benches. The magnitude of dielectric constants for all samples observed in X band is of the same trend as that in K band, i.e. a decrease in dielectric constant with increase in microwave frequency has been observed. Materials with lower dielectric constant would be preferred for insulation application due to their high dielectric strength.