Thermoanalytical evaluation of readily available reference polymers

A commercial set of polymers has been characterized by TG-DTA, DSC, TMA, FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Thermal and mechanical stability, as well as the polymer glass transition temperature,T _g, and melt temperature,T _m, have been documented. There is a good correlation between measuredT _g andT _m values and published data. The degree of polymer crystallinity for polyethylene has been verified by XRD. The credibility and stability of these reference polymers is based on a comparison of their thermal properties, over a wide range of temperatures from two versions of a reference set, published in 1979 (A) and 1994 (B). The thermal properties and crystallinity of these polymers have stood the test of time and are reliable, readily available and consistent.