[Measurement of properties of polypropylene copolymers by Raman spectrum].

Fourier-transform (FT) Raman spectra were measured for 7 kinds of different polypropylene copolymers and the assignments of all Raman bands were made through a detailed analysis. Ultimately, by choosing 2 700-3 100 cm(-1) as the characteristic spectral, partial least squares (PLS) regression models were set up for xylene solubles content, ethylene content and ethylene content of xylene solubles in polypropylene copolymers. The values of correlation coefficient (r) between predicted results and actual values were all greater than 0.94, and the values of average relative error (ARE) were all less than 5%. The second PLS factor was also analyzed in this paper, and it was concluded that the original information of the sample was accurately extracted by using PLS regression. This paper offered a kind of possibility for on-line measurement of xylene solubles content, ethylene content and ethylene content of xylene solubles in polypropylene copolymers.

[Quantitative determination of PVC concentration by Raman spectrum].

Quantitative determination of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) concentration by Raman spectrum was studied in the present work. According to partial least squares (PLS) analysis, it was found that scores of PLS factor 1 were proportional to the concentrations of the sample solutions. Meanwhile, the loadings of factor 1 could reflect the contents of PVC and cyclohexanone simultaneously. The PLS regression model for PVC concentration prediction was built. The values of r and root mean square error (RMSE) between predictive results and actual values were 0.9963 and 2.775, respectively. The Raman characteristic peaks of PVC and cyclohexanone were found, including the C-Cl bond for PVC (620 and 695 cm(-1)) and the alicyclic ketone for cyclohexanone (1709 cm(-1)). By using internal standard method, another model for PVC concentration prediction was established, and the values of r and RMSE were 0.9941 and 3.151, respectively. The results indicated that it is feasible to use Raman spectrum to detect the PVC concentration, which is of significant importance to PVC recycling.

[Measurement of ethylene content in polypropylene by Raman spectrum].

Ethylene content in polypropylene was studied by Raman spectrum, combined with partial least squares (PLS) method. The comparison between Raman spectra for polyethylene and polypropylene was carried out, and the spectra between 50 and 600, 600 and 1600, and 2700 and 3100 cm(-1) were analyzed respectively. The models for ethylene content prediction were built, while the model based on 50-3600 cm(-1) spectra gave the best performance. The experiment indicated that Raman spectrum gave the similar predictive results as the near infrared (NIR) spectrum; the values of correlation coefficient (r), relative average deviation (RAD) and root mean square error (RMSE) between predictive results and actual values were 0.995, 2.65% and 0.319, respectively. According to PLS analysis, the loadings of factor 1 could reflect the relationship between the composition of polypropylene molecular chain and ethylene content, and ethylene content had a positive correlation with CH2 content, but a negative correlation with content of CH3, C-H, and C-C. The results indicated that it was feasible to detect the ethylene content in polypropylene by Raman spectrum.