Thermogravimetric Analysis
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) provides insight into thermal stability of a material and it is powerful tool to study deformulation of a variety of materials. A sample of about 10-20mg of compound is placed on a pan attached to a microbalance which is located inside a furnace.
Then, the sample is heated at the defined, constant rate and in a controlled atmosphere. During the heating process (thermal decomposition) the weight of the sample is monitored as a function of a temperature. Thermal decomposition of a compound leads to production of volatile components which manifests in mass loss of the sample.
In TGA we can estimate the amount of polymer, oil, carbon black and inert fillers in a rubber compounds.
Thermogravimetric Analysis- Infra-red Spectrometry (TGA-IR)
Rubber Consultants has the TGA coupled to IR spectrometer that enables the volatile decomposition products from the TGA to be identified on the basis of their infra-red spectrum signature
Applications
- To identify and quantify the key components of variety of materials such as rubbers, plastics, resins and coatings
- To evaluate thermal stability of polymers and other materials
- To study decomposition patterns of polymers and polymer blends
- To identify volatile components of a variety of samples
