Thermal Analysis of Polymers

Abstract

Thermal analysis embraces a group of analytical methods in which a physical property - e.g. enthalpy, mass, volume or birefringence - is measured as a function of temperature. This paper briefly presents differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetry (TG), thermal mechanical analysis (TMA) and thermal optical analysis (TOA) as methods and describes in more detail their application on polymers. Examples are presented to demonstrate that the use of these methods and the interpretation of the results obtained requires special attention. The non-equilibrium nature of different polymers is illustrated by the melting and crystallization behaviour of flexible-chain polymers, the glass transition of amorphous polymers and phase transitions in liquid crystalline polymers. The information provided by thermal analysis about the morphology of crystalline polymers, the morphology of polymer blends and the chemical stability of polymers is also discussed.