Microscopic observation of melting process of octane with/without encapsulation

The melting processes of pure octane and micro encapsulated octane were studied by differential scanning calorimeter and heating/cooling stage separately, and microscope was used to observe the whole process continuously. The results showed that the free surface can reduce the melting barrier effectively and fast heating will induce overheating, obeying to the classic melting theory. Solidification process was also provided to make a comparison to study the kinetic and thermodynamics properties of phase change.