The use of thermal and spectroscopic methods to study chemically modified materials

The application of thermal and spectroscopic techniques in the characterisation of chemically modified materials is illustrated with several examples: ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers which had been hydrolysed under alkaline conditions, amosite asbestos fibres which had been reacted with alkyldimethylchlorosilanes, and a polymeric composite material which had been affected by moisture.The authors acknowledge the following for assistance in the project: Rhona MacBeth, Conservator, Courtauld Institute of Art and presently at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, for the TMA measurements, conditioning of composite samples, and useful discussions. PL-Thermal Sciences (John Gearing for the DETA measurements on EVA). PL-Thermal Sciences (Epsom Laboratories) for the use of Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis equipment.