Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:45:52.644Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Novel aspects of micro-thermal analysis of polymer blends

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

M. Conroy
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Chemistry, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LAI 4YB, UK
H. M. Pollock
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Chemistry, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LAI 4YB, UK
A. Hammiche
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Chemistry, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LAI 4YB, UK
G. Mills
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, GlasgowG12 8LT
J.M.R. Weaver
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, GlasgowG12 8LT
M. Reading
Affiliation:
IPTME, Loughborough University, LoughboroughLE11 3TU
D. M. Price
Affiliation:
IPTME, Loughborough University, LoughboroughLE11 3TU
Get access

Extract

In “ac” scanning thermal microscopy, an “active” thermal probe is used also as a heater, so as to inject evanescent temperature waves into a sample and to allow sub-surface imaging of polymers and other materials [1]. The sub-surface detail detected corresponds to variations in heat capacity or thermal conductivity. By suitably choosing the temperature modulation frequency, and hence the penetration depth of the wave, we control the depth of material below the sample surface that is contributing to the image.

Micro-Thermal Analysis [2, 3] builds upon this technique, in order to add spatial resolution to two well-established methods of chemical fingerprinting, DTA and DMA. In both cases, a temperature ramp is used to subject the sample to “events” such as a glass transition or melting. The chief advantages of using the active thermal probe to provide the temperature ramp as well as the modulation, without the use of a heating stage, are: (a) the data are obtained from localised regions chosen from a previously-obtained thermal image, (b) apart from these regions, the rest of the sample is preserved in its original unheated state.

Type
Scanned Probe Microscopy: Much More Than Just Beautiful Images
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Scanning thermal microscopy: sub-surface imaging, thermal mapping of polymer blends, localised calorimetry', Hammiche, A, Pollock, H M, Hourston, D J, Reading, M and Song, M, J Vac Sci Technol B14 (1996) 14861491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2. Hammiche, A., Reading, M, Pollock, H. M., Song, M. and Hourston, D. J., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67 4268(1996).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

3. Thermal Analysis For The 21st Century: muTA', Reading, M., Hourston, D. J., Song, M., Pollock, H. M. and Hammiche, A, American Laboratory 30 (thermal analysis feature edition), 1317(1998).Google Scholar

4. Pollock, H M, Hammiche, A., Song, M., Hourston, D J and Reading, M., ‘Interfaces in polymeric systems as studied by CASM', J. Adhesion 67, 217234 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

5. Generic scanned-probe microscope sensing by combining micromachining and electron beam lithography”, Zhou, H, Midha, A, Mills, G, Thorns, S, Murad, S K and Weaver, J M R, J Vac Sci Technol B16, 5458 (1998)CrossRefGoogle Scholar