The production and processing of materials into finished goods constitutes a large part of our present economy. A significant portion of new products are developed from synthetic polymeric materials including composite materials. The Chemical Engineering Department at Rose-Hulman introduced a senior elective course in Polymer Engineering some years ago. and it includes laboratory experience. A Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) is being added to the laboratory to allow students to perform compositional analysis, structural analysis, and analysis on polymer morphology on homopolymers, copolymers, polymer blends and composite materials. The capabilities of the FTIR instrument also allows performance of these analyses on opaque materials which was almost impossible with the existing, older dispersive instruments.
