Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc today introduced Rheonaut, a compact FT-IR module for its Thermo Scientific HAAKE MARS rheometer platform. The company will showcase the new Rheonaut module at the K show, the world’s largest trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry. The event takes in Düsseldorf, Germany, from Oct. 27 – Nov. 3, 2010.
German-based Resultec analytical equipment developed the Rheonaut module for exclusive resale by Thermo Fisher Scientific. When used with the HAAKE MARS rheometer platform, it helps users understand the causes of rheological properties on a microscopic level. Dynamic rheometry and FTIR spectroscopy can be employed simultaneously to monitor a structure development during the reactive processing of a sample and to detect interactions in contrast when used in parallel. This enables customers to optimize their products by adapting formulations more quickly.
Using a rheometer it’s possible to study the steady state and time-dependent viscoelastic properties of a material as a function of stress and/or strain. The viscoelastic properties of a material depend on the structure, however; especially the structural changes of the material on the molecular level. Infrared spectroscopy is an excellent tool for determining the identity and quantities of molecules in a sample. The Rheonaut provides both physical and chemical information on a sample simultaneously using one instrument. This allows a comparison of chemical information with rheological properties. The Rheonaut operates in the mid-infrared spectral range since all fundamental absorption bands of a sample are typically found between 400 - 4000 cm-1 (2.5 - 25 μm). This covers the so-called fingerprint region, which is generally accepted as unique for each molecule.
The Rheonaut is a compact module for Thermo Scientific HAAKE MARS that features:
* Simultaneous rheology and FTIR spectra measurements.
* ATR (attenuated total reflection) principle.
* Analysis of structural changes under shear/deformation.
* Extensive investigation of thermal/UV curing reactions.
“Since infrared spectroscopy is a tool capable of identifying the nature of molecular structures and transformations, the addition of an FTIR spectrometer to a rotational rheometer gives the researcher another level of detail pertaining to the comprehension of rheological applications,” said Markus Schreyer, vice president and general manager of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s material characterization business.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
