Weathering stability is essential to the reliability of polymers in outdoor applications. However, polymeric films can be highly susceptible to degradation when exposed to weathering conditions including sunlight, rain, and extreme temperatures.
Polymeric films used in an outdoor application were experiencing reduced adhesion over time. The client suspected that UV degradation was occurring.
To assess this hypothesis, films with good and bad adhesion were evaluated by SEM (surface morphology), FTIR (surface chemistry) and pyrolysis GC-MS (evidence of degradation). Comparisons were made to a control film that was not exposed to an outdoor environment.
Unlike the control, the exposed surface of the field samples was primarily comprised of inorganic filler based on FTIR, indicating that the polymer matrix may have broken down to expose the filler particles. In addition, the field samples exhibited surface cracking and oxidative degradation byproducts were detected by pyrolysis GC-MS.
Our analytical testing confirmed oxidative degradation of the polymeric films, which was consistent with UV degradation.
For more than 50 years, scientists and engineers at Eurofins EAG have investigated and resolved product failures for clients. Our team of experts identify key failure indicators and follow them to the root cause.
Failure analysis of plastics, thermosets, and rubber materials is commonly performed on finished products and typically involve comparative analysis between failed and non-failed samples. Once the potential root cause is identified, experiments can be designed and conducted to test the hypothesis and recreate the failure in the laboratory. Eurofins EAG can evaluate a variety of polymer types, including:
Eurofins EAG Laboratories offers a full suite of analytical techniques to evaluate the identity, composition, morphology, topography, and rheology of polymeric materials and components.
Call +1 800-366-3867 or email us.
Surface chemistry affects multiple properties including adhesion, wettability, appearance and cleanliness. Auger, TOF-SIMS and XPS are often used to understand chemistry in the top few nanometers of a sample surface.
In this webinar we will focus on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies comparing the two techniques
Besides images provided by SEM and TEM, different attachments can be added to reveal crystalline information, including (SEM-EBSD) and TEM (TEM-PED).
Failure analysis plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of medical device electronics.
To enable certain features and improve your experience with us, this site stores cookies on your computer. Please click Continue to provide your authorization and permanently remove this message.
To find out more, please see our privacy policy.