Abstract
Melting behavior of stearic acid, which contains a polar head group (COOH) at a end of long hydrocarbon chain, was investigated by the DSC measurement. It was found that heat of fusion increased up to two times of normal value, when the sample weight was smaller than 0.01mg, and melting temperature decreased 3∼5°C in the sample having smaller than 0.2∼0.3mg. The results can be attributed to the strong interaction between the oxidized surface layer of aluminium sample pan and the carboxyl group of stearic acid.
