In-line monitoring of dielectric and fluorescence spectroscopy during polymer/filler compounding

A new multipurpose instrument has been used to obtain real-time dielectric and fluorescence spectroscopy from polymer resins compounded with inorganic fillers. The instrument, which is mounted at the exit of an extruder, contains a flow-through slit channel that provides a constant geometry platform for dielectric and fluorescence sensors and for other sensors that can be added as needed. The results of real-time monitoring of Nylon 6 and ethyl vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) compounded with organo modified montmorillonite clays will be presented. Real-time dielectric data are corrected for electrode and conductivity effects before analysis yields information about dielectric relaxation phenomena. Significant differences in dielectric dispersion parameters were observed for clay nanocomposites in the aggregate, intercalated and exfoliated states. Fluorescent dyes, doped into EVA copolymer, are being used as molecular probes to study the effects of microstructure conformation on their spectra.