Organic & Polymer Testing and Analysis

Solving a Wide Variety of Material Problems

NSL Analytical’s experience with organic and polymeric materials includes analysis and testing of catalysts, thermal stabilizers, fillers, and pigments in polymers and composite materials. NSL’s polymer testing lab offers its customers the expertise required to help solve a wide variety of polymer and composite materials problems.

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Organic and Polymer Testing Lab Services

To ensure the accuracy and reliability of your results, our polymer laboratory testing methods adhere to ASTM standards. Our polymer testing services include:

Elemental and Chemical Analysis

Thermal Analysis

Physical Properties

Compositional Analysis

Compositional Analysis Capabilities

NSL’s compositional analysis includes a variety of techniques to help determine the makeup of polymer or composite material. Contact us to learn more or request a quote.

Our ompositional analysis capabilities include elemental, chemical, surface analysis and wet chemistry techniques. The experience of polymer chemists, engineers, and metallurgists combine to help you determine the makeup of your polymer or composite material as well as to identify potential contaminants that may inhibit product quality. Our compositional analysis techniques help you determine:

  • Chemical identification
  • Chemical structure
  • Composition
  • Volatile trace analysis
  • Molecular weight
  • Surface chemical analysis
  • Inorganic filler and fiber analysis
  • Trace metal analysis
  • Fiber orientation
  • Epoxy content of resins
  • Acid number
  • Amine number
  • Free monomer level
  • Moisture content
  • Polymer formula construction
  • PFAS
  • Bisphenol-A
  • Phthalates
  • HBCDD at trace levels

Physical Properties and Mechanical Analysis Capabilities

NSL’s breadth of physical property testing capabilities includes mechanical and thermal analysis. Whether you’re assessing the physical attributes of materials for selection, design, production, or failure analysis, you can count on NSL to provide accurate and reliable results for your polymer and composite materials. Our physical testing and mechanical analysis capabilities include:

Mechanical

  • Tensile Strength
  • Flexural Strength
  • Compressive Strength
  • Impact Resistance
  • Crush Strength
  • Shear Resistance
  • Interlaminate Strength
  • Hardness

Physical

  • Density
  • Specific Gravity
  • Water Absorption
  • Contact Angle
  • Melting Point
  • Oil Absorption of Pigments
  • UV-Vis Spectroscopy
  • QUV – Accelerated Weathering Tester
  • Coatings – Scratch and Abrasion Resistance
  • Haze and Luminous Transmittance of Transparent Plastics

 

Other

  • Volatile Organic Content
  • Ash Content
  • Flash Point
  • Total Dissolved Solids
  • Turbidity
  • Color
  • Particle Size and Shape

Polymer Lab Instrumentation

Whether you require physical, thermal, or chemical analysis of your polymer and composite materials, NSL relies on the latest instrumentation and analytical techniques to deliver accurate and reliable results. NSL’s compositional analysis includes chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, and thermal techniques to help determine the makeup of polymer or composite material. Contact us to learn more about our polymer testing lab or request a quote.

 

Thermal Analysis

  • Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)
  • Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

Physical Analysis

  • Optical & Electron Microscopy
  • Laser Diffraction Particle Size
  • Sieve Analysis

Compositional Analysis

  • Gas Chromatography
  • Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy
  • Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectroscopy
  • Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
  • Anion Chromatography
  • Karl Fischer Moisture

Perkin Elmer Clarus SQ 8T Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS)

This world class GC/MS to allow for ultra-trace detection limits consistently and reliably – time after time.

What does this mean for our customers?

  • High productivity
  • The new hardware, software and libraries will allow for higher end analysis
  • This instrument allows us greater throughput ability as we can now run Phthalates and Brominated Flame retardants simultaneously if needed
  • The new instrument design allows for less down time for maintenance, and the large pump gets us back up and running faster after maintenance

Perkin Elmer QSight Triple Quad Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometer (LC-MS/MS) System

This top-rated LC-MS/MS system incorporates Ultra High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) with a dual source, triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The technology allows for precise measurements of very low concentrations of organic species in a wide range of sample types. NSL has established methods deploying this technique to measure parts per trillion (ppt) levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in manufactured materials. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that include Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA).

Perkin Elmer FT-IR Spectrometer 3

Another recent addition to our polymer testing laboratory is the world-class Perkin Elmer FT-IR Spectrometer 3. This high-tech system allows our team to perform Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) services for samples ranging from 4,000-450 cm. Sample applications include, but are not limited to:

  • Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals
  • Chemicals and materials
  • Polymers