Fast scanning chip calorimetry

In order to obtain data at lower temperature, specifically designed nudeation experiments were recently performed by fast scanning chip calorimetry in a wide temperature range between 40 and 110 °C [51, 52]. The PLA melt was rapidly cooled to the analysis temperature and then annealed for different periods of time to permit nuclei formation. The number of formed crystal nuclei was then probed by measurement of the crystallization rate at 120 °C, which accelerates according to the progress of earlier nuclei formation at the annealing temperature. 

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has proven to be a very reliable technique to obtain heat capacity at elevated temperatirres in a reasonably short time. DSC also allows the study of the kinetics of nonequilibrium transitions in a wide dynamic range. Because of its simplicity and ease of use, DSC is widely applied in polymer science and is the focus of this chapter. Recent additions such as temperature modulation and fast scanning, both making additional use of chip-based calorimeters, are also discussed in detail. 

Figure 1 Different types of differential scanning calorimeters, (a) Three-dimensional cylindrical calorimeter (Tian-Calvet). (b) Three-dimensional calorimeter with power compensation, (c) Two-dimensional plate-like calorimeter, (d) Scheme of a twin-chip sensor (Mettler Toledo Flash 1 DSC ) for fast scanning calorimetry.

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