Slow molecular mobility in the crystalline and amorphous solid states of pentitols: a study by thermally stimulated depolarisation currents and by differential scanning calorimetry.

The molecular mobility of the pentitol isomers (xylitol, adonitol, D-arabitol and L-arabitol) was studied by thermally stimulated depolarisation currents (TSDC) in the crystalline and in the amorphous solid states. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to characterise the phase transformations, to detect polymorphism and to analyse the dynamics of the structural relaxation in the glassy state (from the heating rate dependence of the onset temperature of the glass transition signal). The mobility in crystalline xylitol and adonitol displays features that are different compared with crystalline arabitols. No difference of the dynamic behaviour seems to emerge from our results on the primary and secondary relaxations in the amorphous isomeric pentitols. The values of the steepness index or fragility obtained in this work by TSDC and DSC are compared with the values reported in the literature obtained from other experimental techniques, and with values predicted by empirical formulae.