Is it necessary to make powder of composite or to make a specific size disk of Silica-Polymer composite materials to measure their thermal properties, particularly specific heat, using Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC)?
Dear Musharaf,
in principle you can make measurements using DSC on natural samples - whether powder or bulk.
Best regards,
Carlos
Dear Musharaf Abbas ,
As well said by Carlos Ariel Samudio Pérez , both type of samples are suitable for DSC measurements. I would suggest powder instead of disk just in case you have some evaporation of some solvent at low temperatures, or if you have transitions that release/absorb not much heat, mainly to avoid any sudden transitions that may move the capsule inside the instrument. I used to test thermoset materials (similar to phenolic resins), and I was able to observe better transitions and behaviours by using powder samples than disks, but this is my experience.
Best of luck with those measurements!
Agustin
Dear Musharaf Abbas ,
One issue to think about when dealing with a composite is sampling uniformity. In principle indeed both powder and disk are adequate. However, if the filler phase is relatively coarse - I'm thinking for example of glass fibers - and considering that your sample size is (probably) just a few mg, you have a better chance at uniformity and therefore reproducibility with a powdered sample (provided of course that you grind a much larger sample than the one you eventually use for the DSC measurement).
Alternatively, you can make and measure several samples and average the results - a good idea in any case.
Best regards,
Emanuel Cooper
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