Crystallization and glass properties of pentitols

Thermodynamic and dynamic data of the four pentitols, xylitol, adonitol, l-arabitol and d-arabitol, measured by temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) in the crystalline and amorphous states are presented. The properties of the supercooled liquids clearly show two distinct kinds of thermal behaviors with regard to their aptitude to crystallize. The capacity of the TMDSC technique to characterize both the molecular mobility and the thermal behavior is used to analyze the stability of the supercooled liquid state of the compounds. The comparison between the pentitols shows that the crystallization processes are mainly dominated by the interfacial energy rather than by a competition between the thermodynamic driving force and the molecular mobility. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.