THERMOGRAVIMETRY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS-SPECTROMETRY AND THERMOGRAVIMETRY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED-SPECTROSCOPY - NOVEL HYPHENATED METHODS IN THERMAL-ANALYSIS

Two doubly hyphenated, thermogravimetry-based analytical techniques, v iz. TG/G-C/MS and TG/GC/IR, are described. A valveless, quartz, heated sample path between TG furnace and GC column minimizes losses of prod ucts. Furthermore, combination of a pulsed automated vapor sampling in let and a transfer line type GC column permits high-speed GC identific ation of individual TG products while maintaining sufficiently high te mporal resolution with the approximately 1-min sampling interval to pr ovide kinetic information about the underlying reaction mechanisms. Ex ample analyses on poly(alpha-methylstyrene), a styrene-isoprene block copolymer, and wood demonstrate the techniques' capability for monitor ing specific minor products and isomers.