Differential scanning calorimeter

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Materials properties can often change drastically with variations in temperature, and understanding these changes is crucial to many applications. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a widely used technique that probes changes in the transfer of heat into and out of a material as a function of temperature. This, in turn, makes it possible to detect phase transitions (e.g. melting points) with a high degree of accuracy, and to obtain considerable detail regarding how ordered or disordered a material is at different temperatures. This technique is also sensitive to chemical reactions, which are invariably accompanied by heat being absorbed or released. Researchers at SFU will employ this instrumentation to probe the ordering a wide variety of materials, including liquid crystals, fuel cells, photovoltaic materials (i.e. solar cells), drug-release platforms and biological cell membranes.