3. Results and Discussion
DSC measures the specific heat (Cp) of any sample by following a very simple and straight forward theory. Since the DSC is at constant pressure, heat flow is equivalent to enthalpy changes
In DSC measurement the specific heat (Cp) of the sample can be determined by comparing it to that of a known sample. In our experiment we have considered sapphire as the standard known sample. The heat that flows into the sample is directly proportional to the specific heat. The heat flow into the sample is given by,
Where dH/dt is the heat flow rate measured in calories/seconds, m is the mass of the sample measured in grams, Cp is the specific heat measured in Calories/gram/°K, dT/dt is the rate of change of temperature in °K/second.
This equation is used in order to derive the final equation which determines the specific heat of the sample given by,
Where Cp′ and m′ are the specific heat and mass of the standard, y and y′ are the ordinate deflections due to the sample and standard respectively measured in centimeters Heat capacity is one of the most important thermal parameter because its macroscopic behavior can be linked with the microstructure of a substance and hence can be treated as an entity capable of illuminating the physical endeavor of atoms or molecules within a substance to maneuver themselves upon heating [18, 19, 20].
Figure 1 Shows the variation of specific heat with both temperature and nanoclay (NC) filler concentrations. Two important observations may be come out from Figure 1. Firstly it is found that specific heat (Cp) of all samples, irrespective of filler concentrations, increase with temperature from a certain temperature -30°C to near about 200°C. Beyond 200°C Cp values shows a sharp decrease due to the onset melting process. The specific heat values also increase below -30°C. Secondly Cp values show a remarkable increase with the nanoclay filler concentration. These two interesting phenomenon can be explained in the light of structural change of NR due to both temperature change and addition of increasing filler concentrations