What Are the Causes of Baseline Shifts in DSC Measurements?

Baseline shifts confuse the real thermal events of a sample. This makes it hard to judge melting, glass transition, or decomposition accurately and wastes valuable research effort.

The primary causes of baseline shifts include pan deformation, uneven pan mass, contamination, residual moisture, and temperature fluctuations due to poor heat transfer in the sample holder.

 

Baseline Shift Causes and Fixes Table

Issue	Common Source	Correction	Reference
Deformed pan	High temp, repeated use	Replace with new pan	DSC Guide
Mass difference	Pan pairs not matched	Weigh and pair again	Instrument manual
Contamination	Old residue, poor cleaning	Deep clean or replace pan	Nature
Moisture	Pans not dried before use	Desiccator storage	Lab workflow SOP

Every time I see a baseline jump, I check pan shape, mass match, and cleaning routine first. These steps fix most drift problems in DSC analysis with little extra cost or time.

 

How to Prevent Sample Loss During TGA Analysis?

Unexpected drops in sample mass or failed measurements often come from poor sealing or pan selection in TGA. This leads to wrong readings, sample waste, or failed experiments.

Sample loss is most commonly due to ill-fitting lids, volatile sample behavior, or pan deformation at temperature. Using the right sealing method and pan material for each test prevents these problems.

 

Preventing Sample Loss Table

Cause	Example Scenario	Solution	External Source
Poor sealing	Volatile solvent in open pan	Switch to hermetic lid	Hermetic seal
Pan deformation	Aluminum pan, high temp	Use platinum or ceramic pan	Instrument catalog
Fast ramp rate	Sample splattering	Slower ramp, secure lid	ScienceDirect
Residual contamination	Improper cleaning	Thorough cleaning cycle	Lab SOP

I change sealing method and verify ramp rates for each sample type. For challenging or volatile samples, I always run trials to check pan and lid performance before full-scale testing.

 

What Are the Effects of Incompatible Sample Pan Materials?

Incompatible sample pan materials cause chemical reactions, unexpected heat flow, or early pan breakdown. This hides real sample behavior and damages expensive thermal analysis equipment.

Bad material choices lead to pan corrosion, unwanted sample sticking, or artifacts in data peaks, resulting in false interpretations and repeat analysis costs.

 

Sample Pan Material Compatibility Table

Material	Risk with Sample	Recommended For	Should Avoid	More Info
Aluminum	Corrodes with strong acids	Polymers, routine labs	Acids, very high temp	ScienceDirect
Platinum	Soft metal, may react with halides	Pharma, harsh chemicals	Halides, some fused salts	Nature
Ceramic/Alumina	Brittle, poor for alkalis	Oxide ceramics, metals	Strong alkali samples	Materials Today

I always cross-check each sample formula with pan recommendations in the literature. When running new sample types, I run controls on blank pans to confirm chemical safety before every batch analysis.

 

How to Troubleshoot Instrumental Errors Related to Sample Pans?

Instrument errors frustrate labs when readings freeze, repeatability fails, or sensor alarms show up on screen. Many of these are tied to pan shape, fit, or foreign material on contact surfaces.

Instrumental errors often result from bent or scratched pans, debris in the sample holder, improper calibration, or mismatched pans for the system model. Regular cleaning and matching solve most of them.

 

Instrumental Error Troubleshooting Table

Error Symptom	Likely Source	Correction	Reference
Sensor error, unstable readings	Foreign debris in holder	Careful cleaning, use brush	Instrument manual
Pan stuck in holder	Wrong size/design pan	Replace with correct type	Supplier database
Baseline jump, noise	Scratched or bent pan	Replace pan, recalibrate	Lab report
Calibration drift	Varied pan mass or finish	Use matched, clean pans	Calibration info

I keep pan stock organized, verify ID and mass before each run, and run routine calibration as recommended. Prevention is the fastest way to cut most pan-related instrument problems in routine TGA-DSC operation.