METTLER TOLEDO is pleased to introduce the new Flash DSC 2+–the only commercially available chip calorimeter. With even higher heating and cooling rates, this instrument is ideal for carrying out polymer analysis. The Flash DSC 2+ also permits measurements under oxygen-free conditions and at temperatures up to 1000 °C.
METTLER TOLEDO has released a new Flash Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) with the capability of performing measurements over a wide temperature range (from -95 °C to 1000 °C). As a result, the Flash DSC 2+ permits access to even more materials and represents a quantum leap in the field of materials characterization.
The Flash DSC 2+ features numerous benefits, including:
- Two chip sensors – the standard UFS 1 chip sensor (for larger amounts of organic materials and temperatures up to 500 °C) or the high-temperature UFH 1 sensor (for temperatures up to 1000 °C)
- Ultra-high heating rates of up to 3’000’000 K/min – suppress reorganization processes
- Ultra-high cooling rates of up to 2’400’000 K/min – allow the formation of materials with defined structural properties
- High sensitivity – permits measurements at low heating rates that overlap with conventional DSC
- Wide temperature range – perform measurements from –95 °C to 1000 °C (ideal for metallic or ceramic materials)
- Simplicity of use – from easy sample preparation and sensor change, to convenient result evaluation
- Oxygen-free conditions – protect samples against oxidation
- Fast response sensor – enables the kinetics of extremely fast reactions or crystallization processes to be studied
Efficiency
High heating or cooling rates are only possible when the sample is sufficiently small and in good thermal contact with the sensor. The sample melts in the first heating run. Thermal contact with the sensor is thereby greatly improved. Defined sample structures can then be produced by varying the cooling rate over a wide temperature range. In the second heating run, the sample has no time to reorganize because of the very high heating rates. The enormous range of cooling and heating rates allow many different sample structures to be measured in one experiment.
Polymers, polymorphic substances, and many composites and blends have metastable structures that depend on the cooling conditions used in their production. On heating, reorganization processes such as the melting and recrystallization of unstable crystallites or the separation of phases may occur. The influence of reorganization on the heating curve can be analyzed by varying the heating rate. Flash DSC can simulate technical processes in which rapid cooling occurs. This yields information about the effect of additives (e.g. nucleating agents) under near-process conditions. Isothermal measurements provide information on the kinetics of transitions and reactions that take place in a few seconds. Fast measurements save time in the analysis and development of materials.
Simplicity of Use
The Flash DSC 2+ operates with reusable chip sensors that are based on MEMS (Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems) technology. Samples are first cut to size on a microscope slide and the sample is then transferred and positioned onto the sensor using a strand of hair. Following successful sample loading, the sample is melted to allow perfect adherence to the surface and optimum heat transfer from sample to sensor.
Sensors can be changed in less than a minute and afterward safely stored in the chip sensor box supplied. They are often reused for additional measurements. The improved sensor-clamping mechanism of the Flash DSC 2+ also contributes to accurate results with higher reproducibility.
Lastly, the large and easy-to-read color touchscreen, displaying the status of the instrument, is located at the front of the Flash DSC 2+. Individual sequences and queries may also be added directly via the touchscreen without the use of a PC.