2022 article

The absolute heat capacity of polymer grafted nanoparticles using fast scanning calorimetry

Sakib, N., Koh, Y. P., & Simon, S. L. (2022, July 27). POLYMER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE.

By: N. Sakib*, Y. Koh n & S. Simon n

author keywords: absolute heat capacity; fast scanning Chip calorimetry; glass transition; nanocomposites; polystyrene
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
7. Affordable and Clean Energy (OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 1, 2022

AbstractThe absolute heat capacity of a matrix‐free polystyrene grafted silica nanocomposite system is investigated using ultrafast Flash differential scanning calorimetry (Flash DSC) and compared to results for a neat polystyrene sample of similar molecular weight. The heat capacity of the polymer in the nanocomposite is 8% lower than that of the neat polystyrene. In addition, the step change in heat capacity at the glass transition Tg is 15% lower, indicating a 2 nm‐thick immobile layer of polymer around the nanoparticles. There is neither an increase in the nanocomposite heat capacity towards that of the neat material nor any additional ∆Cp steps, indicating that the glassy layer around the nanoparticles remains immobile up to 300°C. In addition to the analysis of the absolute heat capacity, the dynamic temperature gradient in the Flash DSC sample increases linearly with increasing rate of measurement, whereas the noise in the heat capacity data increases linearly with the reciprocal of the scanning rate; the optimum rate for measurements lies between 300 and 1000 K/s for the samples studied here and will depend on the sample thickness.