Characteristic length of glass transition from calorimetry for benzoin isobutylether in a series of nanometer pores

Temperature modulated dynamic scanning calorimetry (TMDSC) yields the chara cteristic length or, correspondingly, the cooperativity of dynamic glass tr ansition of a molecular liquid in nanometer size pores. The TMDSC traces fo r benzoin isobutylether are not disturbed by structuring effects that are u sually observed in standard DSC. The bulk length of about xi(alpha) = 3 nm decreases with decreasing pore diameter below D = 12 nm, down to xi(alpha) = 1.6 nm in D = 2 nm pores. The glass transition temperature decreases conc omitantly. This can be understood in the framework of the hindered glass tr ansition. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.