Study of the multiple melting in polymeric materials by EDXD-PT. DSC compared application to poly(ethylene-succinate)

An alternative method to DSC, for revealing the thermal dissolution of the phases coexisting in a polymeric sample, is using se structure-sensitive pr obe, like X-ray diffraction. The problem with this is that it would be nece ssary to collect many diffraction patterns and to process them using theore tically calculated quantities. Instead, we used a method we developed, whic h simplifies the experimental procedure in studying phase transitions. It i s based on the energy dispersive X-ray Diffraction and results in a curve t hat represents the evolution of the system under heating. In this paper, we present for the first time a comparison between these two techniques appli ed to a sample of poly(ethylene-succinate) which shows a multiple melting b ehavior when subjected to heating. The ability of EDXD applied to phase tra nsitions (PT) to reproduce the complex melting behavior of PES causes one t o think that a new tool for these kind of studies, completely independent o f DCS, has been found. The potentialities and the merits of EDXD-PT are dis cussed together with its possible future developments.