Characterization of polymers by thermal analysis

Thermal analysis encompasses a whole range of material characterization techniques based on the study of the variation of a physical property as a function of temperature.

These are essentially macroscopic approaches to materials behavior, involving considerations of steady-state thermodynamics, thermodynamics of irreversible processes and kinetics, associated with changes of state (transition phenomena) and the relaxation phenomena that can accompany them.

In the specific case of macromolecular or polymeric materials, thermal response analysis can be used to highlight and interpret microscopic phenomena such as glass transition, melting/crystallization, physical and chemical aging, phase segregation... depending on the system under consideration.

In this article, the main thermal analysis techniques based on the study of an extensive thermodynamic parameter, such as enthalpy or volume, or a dynamic susceptibility such as mechanical modulus in elongation or shear, or dielectric permittivity, are discussed.