Interpretation of multiple melting behaviour in poly (ether ether ketone) revisited: Two-dimensional correlation mapping approach

Two-dimensional correlation mapping (2D-CM) is a newly developed analytical tool, which has been applied successfully to solve many problems in the field of analytical chemistry. It was used in the present work to analyse the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves of different poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) samples. The use of 2D-CM enabled to correlate data from different DSC measurements and extract information related to the double melting behaviour of PEEK. In particular, the results indicated that the two main melting processes at 596.5 and 617.0 K represented two different crystal types. Thickening of crystals occurred only with the higher melting process, whilst the small size of crystals contributed to the lower melting enabled them to diffuse and melt at lower temperatures. Thermal stability and geometry characteristics of formed crystals were the driving force for the observed multiple melting behaviour. 2D-CM analysis provided a variety of advanced methods to correlate and analyse DSC data and made extracting conclusions straightforward.

Automated summary

The article introduces the application of two-dimensional correlation mapping (2D-CM) technique in analyzing DSC curves of poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) samples, which helps to extract relevant information to explain the double melting behavior of PEEK.