Thermalization Calorimetry: A simple method for investigating glass transition and crystallization of supercooled liquids

TL;DR

Thermalization Calorimetry is a straightforward, cost-effective method for analyzing supercooled liquids, capable of detecting glass transition, crystallization, and phase changes through temperature and heat flow monitoring.

Contribution

The paper introduces a simple calorimetry technique that enables rapid thermal analysis of supercooled liquids without complex instrumentation.

Findings

Effective detection of glass transition and melting points

Ability to monitor crystallization processes in supercooled liquids

Estimation of specific heat changes at the glass transition

Abstract

We present a simple method for fast and cheap thermal analysis on supercooled glass-forming liquids. This "Thermalization Calorimetry" technique is based on monitoring the temperature and its rate of change during heating or cooling of a sample for which the thermal power input comes from heat conduction through an insulating material, i.e., is proportional to the temperature difference between sample and surroundings. The monitored signal reflects the sample's specific heat and is sensitive to exo- and endothermic processes. The technique is useful for studying supercooled liquids and their crystallization, e.g., for locating the glass transition and melting point(s), as well as for investigating the stability against crystallization and estimating the relative change in specific heat between the solid and liquid phases at the glass transition.