30.10.2024 by Dr. Carolin Fischer
TGA-FT-IR Transfer Line Coupling
TGA-FT-IR Transfer Line Coupling: High Interface Temperature and Minimal Maintenance Effort
Thermal stability and evolved gas analysis of high-boiling materials are essential in various application fields. The evaporation of glycerol from cosmetic formulations, volatilizing of plasticizers from polymers and the analysis of petrochemical fragments are only a few examples, where high-interface temperature between the outlet of the thermobalance and the inlet of the FTIR gas cell is absolutely required.
Together, NETZSCH and Bruker Optics developed the perfect solution with the ability to heat all interface materials, such as the coupling adapter and transfer line, up to 400°C.
Even the gas cell can be heated up to 370°C. These high temperatures enable loss-free transfer of high-boiling materials without tailing or condensation. Chemical or mechanical cleaning of the tubing is not necessary.
In case of trace amounts of impurities in the gas cell despite heating to 370°C, an automatic heat cleaning procedure is included in the heating control. The user may set the temperature of the gas cell to 400°C, then the automatic cleaning procedure starts, which means heating the gas cell to 400°C for 35 minutes and then automatically cooling back to 370°C in preparation to the next measurement. The residuals in the gas cell are vaporized and purged out immediately.
The high interface temperature together with this automatic cleaning procedure ensure a long lifetime and no need for purification of all coupling parts, e.g., tubing and FT-IR gas cell windows.
See here a dedicated application example for the investigation of high-boiling organics:
