Simultaneous DSC-FTIR spectroscopy: Comparison of cross-linking kinetics of an epoxy/amine resin system

The top-cover of a conventional differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) was modified to accommodate two custom-made fibre-optic probes. The function of the probes was to illuminate the sample and reference compartments of the DSC and to return the reflected light from the DSC pans to a fibre-coupled Fourier transform near-infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The cross-linking kinetics of a commercially available epoxy/amine resin system were studied using the conventional and modified DSC along with conventional transmission FTIR spectroscopy. The cross-linking kinetics and the activation energies for the epoxy/amine resin system obtained via the conventional DSC and simultaneous DSC/FTIR were similar (60.22–60.97 kJ mol−1). However, the activation energy obtained for the cuvette-based conventional transmission FTIR experiments was found to be lower (54.66 kJ mol−1). This may be attributed to the temperature-control attained within the cuvette holder. The feasibility of using a simple fibre-optic probe to link the DSC to the FTIR spectrometer was demonstrated.