Correlation between native bonds in a polymeric material and molecular emissions from the laser-induced plasma observed with space and time resolved imaging

Emissions from C2 molecules and CN radicals in laser-induced plasmas on polymeric materials were observed with time-resolved spectroscopic imaging. More precisely, differential imaging with a pair of narrowband filters (one centered on the emission line and another out of the line) was used to extract emission images of interested molecules or radicals. The correlation between the molecular emission image of the plasma and the molecular structure of the polymer to be analyzed was studied for four different types of materials: polyamide (PA) with native CN bonds, polyethylene (PE) with simple CC bonds, polystyrene (PS) with delocalized double CC bonds, and polyoxymethylene (POM) which neither contains CC nor CN bonds. A clear correlation is demonstrated between emission and molecular structure of the material, allowing the identification of several organic compounds by differential spectroscopic imaging.

► Plasma imaging method to discriminate different type of polymers. ► Molecular emissions (CN and C2) are spatially and temporally correlated to native bonds. ► Several formation processes of molecular fragments are observed.