Determination of Dry Sample Mass

DSC is commonly used to determine the proportions of the various water fractions present in hydrated polymers. Hermetically sealed sample vessels are commonly used. If aluminum or silver sample vessels are to be used, they should be heated in an autoclave with a small amount of pure water at 373 K for several hours to prevent 

The sample vessel is pierced quickly, placed in the DSC at room temperature and heated at 10°Cmin . An endothermic deviation of the sample baseline due to the vaporization of water is observed. The presence of a very small amount of water can be detected by this procedure. The sample is heated until no deviation of the sample baseline is observed. The dried sample is then quickly reweighed and the intrinsic water content determined. 

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