A discussion of the principles and applications of Modulated Temperature DSC (MTDSC)

The benefits of Modulated Temperature DSC (MTDSC) over conventional differe ntial scanning calorimetry (DSC) for studying thermal transitions in materi als are reviewed by means of examples. These include the separation of over lapping phenomena such as melting/recrystallization in semi-crystalline mat erials, the heat capacity variation and enthalpic relaxation at the glass t ransition, and transitions from the different components of a blend. In add ition, examples are presented demonstrating the ability of MTDSC to detect subtle transitions more readily and without loss of resolution. The possibi lity of measuring heat capacity in quasi-isothermal conditions and the eval uation of the thermal conductivity of a material are explained. (C) 1999 El sevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.