Recommendations for accurate heat capacity measurements using a Quantum Design physical property measurement system

A commercial instrument for determination of heat capacities of solids from ca. 400 K to 0.4 K, the physical property measurement system from Quantum Design, has been used to determine the heat capacities of a standard samples (sapphire [single crystal] and copper). We extend previous tests of the PPMS in three important ways: to temperatures as low as 0.4 K; to samples with poor thermal conductivity; to compare uncertainty with accuracy. We find that the accuracy of heat capacity determinations can be within 1% for 5 K < T < 300 K and 5% for 0.7 K < T < 5 K. Careful attention should be paid to the relative uncertainty for each data point, as determined from multiple measurements. While we have found that it is possible in some circumstances to obtain excellent results by measurement of samples that contribute more than ca. 1/3 to the total heat capacity, there is no “ideal” sample mass and sample geometry also is an important consideration. In fact, our studies of pressed pellets of zirconium tungstate, a poor thermal conductor, show that several samples of different masses should be determined for the highest degree of certainty.