Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry as a tool for studying heterogeneity within polymers

The distribution (heterogeneous or homogeneous) of inorganic additives with in an organic polymer phase is important because it directly influences the physical and chemical properties of the polymer. Heterogeneity must also b e assessed when producing reference materials. When producing a polymer ref erence material certified for the concentrations of its inorganic additives , assessment of heterogeneity is crucial. In this work the use of LA-ICP-MS to demonstrate the occurrence of heterogeneity in polymers, and polyethyle ne in particular, is described. The polymers studied were candidate referen ce materials. The conclusions reached correspond well with those obtained b y means of solid sampling-Zeeman atomic absorption spectrometry (SS-ZAAS). As LA-ICP-MS is a multi-elemental technique the data was obtained in a frac tion of the time required by SS-ZAAS. Hence, LA-ICP-MS can be used as a scr eening tool to quickly reject materials on the basis of unacceptable hetero geneity, thereby avoiding unnecessary time-consuming SS-ZAAS analyses. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.