Piezo- and pyroelectric photothermal characterization of polymers as a function of temperature

In this article, piezo- and pyroelectric signals are used for the photother mal characterization of the thermomechanical properties of polymers as a fu nction of temperature. The potentialities of the proposed technique are exp lored using poly(ethylene terephthalate) as the test sample. The influence of the sample thermal aging on the polymer physical properties is also disc ussed. The sensitivity of the proposed photothermal technique is tested by comparing its results with complementary dielectric response measurements a nd X-ray diffraction. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.