Measurement of Grease Using FTIR

User Benefits

- The attenuated total reflection (ATR) method is a convenient and suitable method for qualitative analysis of base oils in grease. - In the case of grease with strong light absorption, ATR measurement techniques such as applying a thin layer of grease or changing the Ge prism are used. Advanced ATR correction can be used as an analysis technique to obtain spectra similar to that of the transmission method.

Introduction

Grease is used on various machine parts (mainly shafts and bearings) to help smooth their operation. Grease is defined as a base oil (lubricating oil) with thickeners dispersed to achieve a semi-solid or solid state. There are various types of base oils and thickeners, which are used according to the given environment and application. Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometers (FTIR) are used to check and identify base oils contained in grease and to investigate their degree of degradation. In particular, measurements using the ATR unit can be performed simply by applying grease to a prism. However, some base oils of grease have strong light absorption, which requires using special techniques for measuring or analyzing data. In this article, the FTIR single-reflection ATR method (ATR method) is compared to the transmission method for measuring commercial greases.

May 7, 2026 GMT