Quantitative characterisation of Au–Co–PTFE composite coatings by differential enthalpic analysis

Energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) have been previously used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of PTFE in gold–PTFE composite coatings. The inclusion rate of PTFE particles in the composite coating is determined close to the surface by these two methods and particularly within a thickness of 0.5 μm by EDS. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is investigated for a direct determination of the inclusion rate of PTFE, independently of the depth in the coating. The gold matrix allows us to release from metal oxidation and, associated with PTFE (chemically inert), to isolate easily the composite coating by dissolution of the metal support. Correlation is made between the DSC and EDS methods previously proposed as detection tools.