The melting point range for a compound provides one aspect of characterisation data. For a given polymorph (crystal form) of a pure compound, the melting point should be consistent, as this relates to the energy take to break the ordered arrangement of molecules in the solid form into the less ordered form of a liquid. The melting point range is reduced if the ordering of the solid form is disrupted in any way, for example by the presence of impurities, as the compound melting would then take less energy than for a perfectly ordered crystal structure.

These instrument pages cover the techniques used to acquire data within a laboratory. There are separate pages covering the analysis and interpretation of melting point range data which can be found within the data analysis and reporting section of the website which are linked below: