The aliphatic polyketone copolymers (PK copolymer) are composed of a perfectly alternating copolymer of ethylene and carbon monoxide. These copolymers are a relatively new class of polymers but being utilized in many industries. PK copolymers exhibit many desirable engineering thermoplastic properties, such as a high tensile yield stress and excellent impact performance. Their high degree of chemical resistance and superior barrier properties make this polymer class a new unique thermoplastic for engineering applications. Due to their superb mechanical and tribological properties, they are an excellent choice for vehicle components in the automotive industry. They are used for manufacturing gear wheels, bearings, bushings and other mechanical parts that must withstand large stresses. Because of their chemical resistance and high barrier properties, PK copolymers are also used for battery and fuel line applications. Since Polyketone Copolymers play a major role in manufacturing it's crucial to make sure that the material meets the specification.
Recent developments in high speed DSC provide many advantages over conventional DSC. PerkinElmer's HyperDSC® is a premier fast scan DSC technique which has extremely fast response times and very high resolution. It allows very fast linear heating and cooling scanning (up to 500 °C/min) over a broad temperature range. This application note presents experiment methodologies and results using the HyperDSC® to provide higher sensitivity, and benefit from the ability to suppress kinetic events during scanning on polyketone copolymer samples.