Thermal Analysis: Material Science Facilities for Undergraduate Teaching/Research in Chemistry and Physics

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Chemistry (12) This project uses thermal analysis instruments to develop materials science experiments in chemistry and physics laboratories as well as to conduct undergraduate research in this area. For thermal analysis, three complementary instruments (a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and a Thermogravimetric Analysis/Differential Thermal Analysis (TGA/DTA) instrument, with Evolved Gas Analysis capabilities, coupled to a dedicated FTIR spectrometer) are used to characterize solid state materials including ceramics and polymers. Experiments are adapted from both the educational and the research literature. In the physical chemistry course the instruments are used to measure the thermal properties of polyurethane and to determine the specific heat capacity and enthalpy of protein folding. In inorganic chemistry, students study Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) using a well-defined ruthenium carbene complex, and measure the thermal properties of the resulting polymer. In an upper level physics laboratory course, students study the orthorhombic-totetragonal phase transition in the superconductor YBa2CU307-x by DSC and oxygen stoichiometry by TGA. The transition temperature is a sensitive function of oxygen content in this cuprate superconductor. A second experiment involves the study of the phase transition of C60. The instruments are used in undergraduate research in materials science in both the chemistry and the physics departments. In chemistry, thermal analysis is used to evaluate precursors used to form nanoparticles of magnetic semiconductors by thermolysis. The role of water in the adsorption of peptides and proteins to mineral surfaces using thermal analysis is also being studied. In physics, the properties of fullerenes and cement based materials are being investigated.