Thermal microscopy involves the study of particles or chemical compounds under carefully controlled heating/cooling conditions. The precise regulation of temperature is controlled in a sample chamber mounted on a polarized light microscope. Examples of the applications of thermal microscopy include the observation of melting behavior, phase transitions, sublimation, desolvation and decomposition.

Instrumentation:

McCrone Associates uses a Linkam Scientific Instruments LTS350 heating/freezing stage, featuring an automatic temperature control unit, allowing for easy cooling and heating of the sample.

The Linkam LTS 350 stage is ideal for documenting melting points, polymorphic states and freezing points of various materials. This stage consists of a large-area heating block with a platinum resistor sensor embedded close to the surface for accurate temperature measurements.

In an effort to minimize the temperature gradient across the sample, the light aperture in the block is only 2.5 mm. The built-in stage manipulator allows the operator a 15 x 15 mm X-Y translation of the sample area.