Analysis of complex dielectric spectra. II: Evaluation of the activation energy landscape by differential sampling

Relaxation phenomena are controlled by thermally activated or by free-volume activated kinetics. Evaluation of the kinetic parameters across the whole experimental window is of prime importance. Techniques that provide information about the entire landscape of activation energies or fractional free volumes are discussed. Emphasis is given to a fine-structure analysis by bivariate differential sampling and its potential for studying the glass transition dynamics in equilibrium and non-equilibrium (physical aging) is shown.