Determination of OH groups at plasma oxidised poly(propylene) by TFAA chemical derivatisation XPS: An inter-laboratory comparison

A first inter-laboratory comparison was conducted to demonstrate and document the capability of interested laboratories to measure the fraction of C-OH species on a plasma oxidised poly(propylene) sample by using a chemical derivatisation XPS approach. This report presents the results from that inter-laboratory comparison and includes the data received for the measured values and their associated standard deviations of laboratory means, at a 95% confidence level. The measurements were guided by a protocol developed within the group before and summarised shortly in the paper. Standard deviations that may characterise the stateof-the-art for the nominally simple and rather often practised case of TFAA chemical derivatisation XPS of C-OH species on a plasma oxidised polyolefin surface are calculated following ISO 5725-2:1994. The main conclusion is that the associated degree of equivalence reached by the participating laboratories in this comparison is still low. Further r esearch to improve chemical derivatisation XPS protocols is mandatory. Figure Presented