Problem solving with molecular vibrational spectroscopy

Paints and coatings cover a broad range of applications from a nano-coaling acting as a bio-fouling banier on the hull of a ship, to a micron scale steel conversion coating offering long term corrosion resistance. In each application, the understanding of the effectiveness of the coating's performance requires a detailed examination of coating and substrate chemistry. The failure analysis of existing paint and coating technologies and the development of new coatings methods require a range of materials characterization techniques especially for analyses at the molecular level. Choosing the most suitable method depends on a number of important parameters. The first key consideration is the kind of samples that need to be analyzed, whether solids, liquids or gases, coatings or mixtures. Sample quantity is another vital parameter, owing to the different analytical requirements when screening bulk samples as opposed to when analyzing particles.