Laser Beam Scattering Analysis in Aqueous Environments

A new experimental approach is proposed to detect a specific polymer dissolved in a liquid. Distinctive optical properties were found using a laser scattering technique when there is a polymer compound with almost no difference in optical properties (index of refraction) in a liquid phase. The index of refraction, which determines the refraction of light, is obtained by dissolving PCL and PLA. The used samples are biodegradable materials with similar properties and dissolved in a mixture of Chloroform 7: Methanol 3. To predict the optical properties, a 632-nm diode laser was used as the light source of the device, and an integrating sphere was used as the light receiver. Although PCL and PLA had a similar index of refraction of 1.46-1.48, the dissolved PCL showed a relative transmittance of 43%, and the dissolved PLA had a relative transmittance of 34%. The difference in optical properties of the pure polymer compound in the solid state or liquid state is not significantly different, and the difference in the dissolved state in the specific solvent is remarkable because the solubility differs in a specific solution and is randomly distributed.

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