Introduction
Thermal analysis embraces all methods in which measurements are
made of a physical property of a material that changes as the temperature is
varied [1]. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) primarily measure the
thermal properties of a material and allow calculation of the enthalpy (ΔH) or
entropy (ΔS) changes that occurs when transformations such as crystal melting
occur [2]. DSC is a technique which records the energy necessary to establish
a zero temperature difference between the sample and reference material as a
function of time or temperature. In this method, the two specimens are
subjected to identical temperature conditions in an environment which is
heated or cooled at a controlled rate. A schematic diagram illustrating the
layout of the experimental set-up used to carry out DSC is shown in Figure 1