Pico-thermogravimetric material properties analysis using diamond cantilever beam

This paper presents a novel technique for pico-thermo gravimetric analysis of material properties using diamond cantilever beam. The thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate (CaCO
₃
) was examined using this method. The diamond cantilever beam with CaCO
₃
attached on the tip was introduced in a thermal chamber and the temperature was raised to 600°C. The cantilever beam was vibrated and the resonant frequency was monitored in real time during the thermal process. From the resonant frequency behavior, there was evidence that the thermal conversion from CaCO
₃
to CaO starts around 500°C. The novel technique used very small amount of material and variations of the analyzed material pico-mass can be observed from the cantilever beam measurements. The information about the conversion temperature was highly accurate.