APS Facilities and Equipment

Akron Polymer Systems has over 1800 square feet of well-equipped laboratory space for the synthesis of monomers and polymers. The laboratories contain:

• Ten separate hoods
• The required glassware for large scale synthesis
• Three rotary evaporators including a commercial 20L unit
• Two convection ovens
• Four vacuum ovens, balances, heating and stirring plates, etc.

Available Instrumentation

APS has analysis equipment for monomer and polymer characterization, including:

• An HPLC for organic materials/monomers characterization
• A GPC and a viscosity measurement system for polymer molecular weight characterization
• A UV-Vis for molecular identification and spectral characterization
• NMR, FTIR for molecular identification and characterization of monomers and polymers
• DSC, TGA and TMA for thermal analysis of polymers and their films
• DMA and Instron for film mechanical property characterization
• SEM, TEM and AFM for film morphology characterization
• 15-liter Chemglass reactor equipped with heating mantle, center cooling coil, temperature controller and variable speed electrical agitator motor
• Two-gallon PDC reactor 150 psig rated, Teflon lined equipped with heating mantle, center cooling coil, temperature controller and variable speed electrical agitator motor
• One-gallon Eberback blender equipped with explosion proof electrical motor
• Thermo Haake CT9OW low temperature (-100°C) circulation bath; 37 mm X 60 cm vacuum jacketed distillation column and associated equipment
• 50-gallon blend tank, 50 psig rated, SS equipped with single speed mag drive agitator
• 50-liter Chemglass reactor equipped with heating mantle, temperature center cooling coil, and air driven agitator
• 50-liter PDC reactor, 150 psig rated, jacketed variable speed mag drive, center cooling coil
• Budzar hot oil unit
• Hot oil high temperature transfer lines