It can be used in the analysis of:

• volatile products
• gaseous products lost during the reaction in thermoplastics
• thermosets
• elastomers
• composites
• films
• fibres
• coatings
• paints

The thermogravimetric analysis process

A small mass of the material is placed in a furnace under a specific atmosphere and the variation in the mass is recorded following a defined temperature program. The temperature program can be set to:

• a fixed temperature for a period of time (isothermal or static TGA)
• a series of steps in temperature (quasi-static TGA)
• a continuous increase in temperature at a constant heat rate (dynamic TGA)

TGA can be used to study the thermal stability, for identification or quality control of materials. Complex materials or mixtures can also be analysed with the right temperature program and gaseous environment.

TGA can also be used to study oxidation or reactions with other reactive gases or vapours.

Heat flow compared with time and temperature can be analysed to determine:

• the heat capacity
• enthalpy of melting or fusion
• enthalpy of reaction or thermal degradation
• glass temperature transition

Exothermic or endothermic peaks from the baseline represent thermal changes in the samples. The specific heat capacity is determined by comparing the heat flow rate curves obtained on the sample and a standard reference.

Browse our thermal and polymer characterisation library to learn how we detect glass transitions and measure molecular mass distributions.

Discover how to measure the glass transition in polymers and learn how thermogravimetry can be used to determine the amount of volatile matter in a sample.

If you're a University member of staff or a student, you can take our Moodle course on thermal and polymer characterisation and watch introductory videos on our techniques.