Tiny 'quick and dirty' NIR Spectroscopy for the Identification of Plastics

Near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy has previously been proven to be a useful tool for the identification of plastics in general. However, the low-cost, just matchbox-sized SCIO NIR smartphone spectrometers presented in this article is extending the scope of NIR spectroscopy beyond the classical laboratory environment. The paper shows that even this modest consumer instrument is well able to clearly identify many sorts of plastics, non-destructively, and in situ. Consequently, it can be recommended for the benefit of object conservation, in museums or for freelance work. This article explains the basics of the testing method, demonstrating its practical use and discussing the pros and cons the instrument. As the tool has a specific, small area of wavelengths and had been released only recently, most of the work presented in this article is new, experimental and exclusive. For reference purposes, more than twenty common plastics were analyzed and listed in a table, together with their corresponding NIR spectra and pictures of the respective plastic objects. In order to demonstrate the performance of the instrument, a small collection of plastic magnifiers dating from the 1920s until today was analyzed using the NIR spectrometer. Most of the magnifier materials could be successfully analysed.     «

Near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy has previously been proven to be a useful tool for the identification of plastics in general. However, the low-cost, just matchbox-sized SCIO NIR smartphone spectrometers presented in this article is extending the scope of NIR spectroscopy beyond the classical laboratory environment. The paper shows that even this modest consumer instrument is well able to clearly identify many sorts of plastics, non-destructively, and in situ. Consequently, it can be...     »