Thermal Analysis
(Caudill Bldg, Rm 12)
The Soft Matter Characterization lab has two thermoanalytical tools, the TA Instruments Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) DSC250 and the TA Instruments Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) TGA5500. DSC can provide accurate measurements of temperature, the magnitude of phase transitions, and heat capacities, and allows the determination of sample impurities based on the Van’t Hoff law of melting-point depression in eutectic systems. The DSC250 is a highly sensitive instrument that enables the detection of weak phase transitions and can separate overlapping thermal transitions in multi-component or complex samples using the modulated DSC (mDSC) mode. The TGA is a high-precision, sensitive, and reliable weight balance that helps understand a material’s mass change over time and temperature and calculates weight loss due to chemicals, material breakdown, ash content, carbon black, and moisture. It can also be used to detect interactions between substances, active compounds, and packaging materials in controlled environments.
Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC)
TA Instruments Discovery DSC250
- Advanced T4 Tzero heat technology with unique capability to conduct and store heat capacity in a single run while offering accurate real-time determination of heat flow, sharper resolution, and highest sensitivity. Cap the pans with one of three types of available pan lids: pressed-in, hermetic, or hermetic with a pinhole.
- Modulated DSC (mDSC) measurement capability for deconvolution of complex and overlapping transitions, detecting weak transitions, more accurate initial crystallinity measurement, and determination of heat capacity
- 54-position autosampler
- Wide temperature range from -180 °C to 550 °C using TA Instrument’s liquid nitrogen cooling accessory
USES:
- Tg, melting, and freezing transitions
- Heat capacity
- Purity determination
- Deconvolution of overlapping transitions
Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA)
TA Instruments Discovery TGA5500
- Infrared furnace for highest heating and cooling rates
- Tru-MassTM Balance technology providing exceptionally high sensitivity and resolution and ultra-low drift for weight accuracy enabling Hi-Res TGA measurements
- 25-position autosampler
- Temperature range from ambient to 1200 °C
- Linear controlled heating rates of 0.1 to 500 °C/min
- Can be operated in Modulated TGA, Hi-Res TGA, and Auto-Stepwise TGA modes to produce model-free kinetic data, and real-time direct determination of activation energy as a function of time, temperature, and conversion
- TG/DTA (Differential Thermal Analysis) for simultaneous weight loss and temperature transition measurements
- Ability to switch the furnace purge in mid-analysis
- Available pans include aluminum, platinum, and alumina (ceramic)
USES:
- Simple and complex mixture decomposition temperature(s)
- Decomposition kinetics
- Quantify loss of water and volatiles
- Composition of multi-component systems
- Weight % residual (ash)
- Activation energy
- Effects of reactive atmosphere
- Differential Thermal Analysis
Do you need an accessory or geometry we don’t have?
If you have a specific test for which we do not have an accessory or geometry available, we invite you to contact us. We would love to discuss your needs and how our laboratory can perhaps meet them and find a solution mutually beneficial to your lab and the SM Core Lab.