Polymers are long-chain macromolecules formed by repeating monomer units. This category includes commodity plastics like polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), PVC, and PET as well as engineering polymers, elastomers, and bioplastics. Each polymer type has a distinctive infrared fingerprint driven by its backbone chemistry and side-group vibrations.
Polymer FTIR spectra are the industry standard for plastic identification in recycling facilities, failure analysis laboratories, and regulatory compliance programs. Polymer characterization through spectroscopy enables rapid sorting of mixed plastic waste, detection of contamination in packaging materials, and verification of incoming raw materials against specifications. Reference spectra make it possible to distinguish between visually identical polymers — such as HDPE versus LDPE — that require different processing.
On SpectralBench you can browse verified polymer reference spectra, view absorption bands interactively, and download data as CSV or JCAMP-DX. Compare your unknown plastic samples against the library to identify polymer type quickly and confidently.