A. Anstey, P.C. Lee
University of Ottawa,
Canada
Keywords: nucleation, calorimetry, kinetics, crystallization
Summary:
This presentation will discuss new developments in the application of ultrafast scanning calorimetry as a tool for the characterization of homogeneous nucleation kinetics in supercooled polymers. Homogeneous nucleation is a fundamental crystallization phenomena that dominates polymer crystallization at low temperatures close to T_g. Formal analysis of the phenomenon in semicrystalline polymers has been historically limited due to the challenge of accessing this temperature regime experimentally. Ultrafast scanning calorimetry presents a powerful avenue for the exploration of homogeneous nucleation due to the possibility of extremely rapid quenching of a melt, coupled with highly sensitive measurement of heat flow. We demonstrate several novel experimental frameworks that provide new insight into homogeneous crystal nucleation and allow quantitative analysis of nucleation kinetics.