Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Absorption/Scattering Imaging Method Using Multiple Ground Plates for Evaluating Polymer Composites.

This paper proposes a nondestructive method of evaluating polymer composites using near-infrared (NIR) diffuse reflection spectroscopy with multiple ground plates. Wavelength-dependent absorption and reduced scattering coefficients were acquired to evaluate the chemical structure and the concentration of the substances from absorption and to determine the size and the dispersity of filler in the polymer domain from scattering. NIR spectra of the sample were measured on multiple ground plates, namely, "ground-plate-dependent" diffuse reflection spectra. The effects of the external reflection on the ground-plate-dependent diffuse reflection spectra were subsequently removed. The internal reflection coefficient was calculated based on the difference between the diffuse reflectances of the neat resin and ground plates without prior information on the incident angle of light and the refractive index of sample. The external reflection coefficient was evaluated by the gap of diffuse reflectances between the sample and a white ground plate. After the corrections of reflections, the spectra were fitted by a physical model of light propagation based on the two-flux theory to acquire the absorption and the reduced scattering coefficients. The calculated absorption coefficients indicated a good linear relationship with particle concentration. The calculated reduced scattering coefficients agreed with the theoretical values by Mie scattering theory. It was demonstrated that the proposed method achieved the simultaneous evaluation of particulate-filler concentrations and sizes in polymer composites.