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UCL ISH researcher wins poster prize at Applications of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry Conference
11 April 2018
UCL ISH researcher, Dr Simoni Da Ros won the poster prize at the recent thermal analysis conference organised by the Thermal Methods Group.
Held in Belfast between 27 and 28 of March this year, the conference was organised as part of the Analytical Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry to promote awareness of thermoanalytical techniques in the UK. It focused on the use of thermoanalytical techniques for the characterisation of polymers with pharmaceutical applications and dedicated significant attention to the study of materials with historic importance, such as wood and plastics.
Simoni’s winning research poster demonstrated the investigation of the use of differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis for determining the glass transition temperature of historic cellulose nitrate materials. The poster was presented by Simoni and developed with the support of UCL ISH Lecturer Dr Katherine Curran, UCL ISH MSc student Isabella Del Gaudio and Dr John Duncan from Lacerta Technology.
Speaking about her research Simoni said:
“The glass transition temperature is an important property because it is sensitive to changes in the polymer structure; it is therefore a powerful source of information about the degree of degradation. However, depending on the technique employed, different methods are suggested for defining the glass transition from experimental data, resulting in distinct values in the literature. Thus, one of the objectives of our work is focused on the development of quantitative relationships between the glass transition and plastic properties, such as the plasticiser content, which can be of fundamental importance for investigating the plasticiser loss effect on degradation rate. I am really pleased to have won this prize"
