Differential scanning calorimetry:

• Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique was developed by E.S. Watson and M. J. O'Neill in 1962 and commercial introduction was done at 1963 in Pittsburgh conference.

• DSC is a thermo-analytical technique in which the differences in the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of a sample and reference are measured as a function of temperature.

• Both the sample and reference are maintained at nearly the same temperature throughout the experiment. The reference sample should have a well defined heat capacity over the range of temperatures to be scanned and analyzed.

• In general, the temperature program of the DSC is designed to increase the sample holder temperature linearly as a function of time.

• The main application of DSC is in studying phase transitions such as melting point, glass transitions, or exothermic decompositions. These transitions involve energy changes or heat capacity changes that can be detected by DSC with great sensitivity.