Polymer Center List of Equipment
The Polymer Center is equipped with nearly every characterization tool that polymer scientists need to be on the cutting edge – electrical, chemical, and mechanical. The Center also houses high-bay synthesis and processing labs and equipment, which allows our research to be developed further along the R&D spectrum.

Spectroscopy
FT-NMR with full-time lab manager to provide training and maintenance
  • Varian Unity 500 MHz
  • Innova 300 MHz
  • Innova 200 MHz (Walker undergraduate lab)
  • ChemMagnetics 360 MHz – Solid State NMR, CRAMPS, PFG and high temperature (600°C) capability

Perkin-Elmer FT-IR

UV-Vis

ESR

GC-MS Shimadzu with full MS library

Mw Analysis
Five GPCs with a variety of solvents and detectors

Micromass MALDI-TOF MS

Agilent LC-MS-ion trap

Thermal Analysis
DSC

  • DuPont
  • Perkin-Elmer DSC
  • Perkin-Elmer DSC with UV attachment
  • Mettler-Toledo DSC821e/400 with intracooler

TGA

  • Perkin-Elmer
  • Mettler-Toledo TGA/SDTA851e/LF/1100 with the MT5 balance

DMA

  • Perkin Elmer
  • Mettler-Toledo (Tritec DMA2000) – modified to a rheo-optical instrument to measure optical birefringence and dynamic mechanical properties simultaneously
  • Rheometric DMTA V

Thermal Microscopy

  • In-situ measurement of DSC (Mettler hot stage) and static light scattering
  • Hot-stage microscope (600°C) with full screen monitor, video recorder, and freeze-frame print capability
 

Mechanical Testing
Instron 4204 with 200°C and 1200°C ovens

Instron 8562 with 1500°C furnace

Multiple low-load frame mechanical testers

Electron Microscopy
(EM facility in MRC at RPI)

Transmission Electron Microscopy
Philips CM-12 TEM

  • LaB6 Cathode
  • 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 kV, 2.4 Angstrom resolution
  • Equipped with EDS and small CCD

JEOL JEM-2010 FASTEM

  • LaB6 Cathode
  • 80 to 200 kV Variable, 1.4 Angstrom resolution
  • Equipped with Oxford EDS, Gatan GIF, Gatan EELS, ASID (STEM), and FASTEM

Scanning Electron Microscopy
JEOL JSM-840 SEM

  • Conventional Set-up
  • .2 to 35KV 50 Angstrom resolution @ 35kV
  • Equipped with Secondary, Backscattered, and EDS detectors

JEOL JSM-6332 FESEM

  • Field Emission SEM
  • .5 to 30kV 15 Angstrom resolution @ 15kV
  • Equipped with Secondary, Backscattered and Cathode luminescence detectors

Other Instruments
Circular dichroism

Peptide synthesizer

Contact angle measurement (Rame-hart with CCD camera and Video monitor)

Cryomicrotome

  • DuPont
  • Microstar

Conductivity meters for proton and electrical measurements