Carbonates are the most common class of solvent used in both primary and secondary batteries. Understanding phase transitions in these solvents is incredibly useful as freezing and other transitions will have detrimental effects on the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) provides a method whereby thermal transitions can be accurately measured.
This application note describes how the PerkinElmer DSC 8000 differential scanning calorimeter can be used to quickly determine the eutectic point of a carbonate solvent mixture as well as understand the phase transitions which are taking place.