TGA-FTIR testing combines thermogravimetric analysis with fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to correlate mass-loss events with the chemical identity of evolved gases. During a controlled heating program, TGA records sample weight change while gases released from dehydration, solvent loss, additive volatilization, decomposition, oxidation, or curing reactions are transferred to an FTIR gas cell for spectral identification. BOC Sciences provides customized TGA-FTIR testing services for pharmaceutical research, polymers, coatings, adhesives, catalysts, battery materials, cosmetics, personal care ingredients, packaging materials, and advanced functional materials. Through an integrated analytical platform, our scientists help clients transform thermal curves and infrared spectra into decision-ready insight, including decomposition temperature windows, volatile profiles, functional-group assignment, formulation comparison, outgassing behavior, moisture and solvent release, process-related residues, and material failure mechanisms.
BOC Sciences provides TGA-FTIR evolved gas analysis for clients who need to understand not only when a sample loses mass, but also what chemical species are released at each thermal event. This service is especially valuable for multi-step decomposition, outgassing, residual solvent, and formulation-comparison studies.
For drug discovery and development teams, TGA-FTIR helps clarify volatile release, hydrate or solvate behavior, excipient interactions, and thermally induced degradation pathways. BOC Sciences supports API, intermediate, excipient, salt, co-crystal, amorphous dispersion, and formulation-related sample investigations.
BOC Sciences applies TGA-FTIR testing to polymers, coatings, adhesives, elastomers, packaging films, inks, sealants, resins, foams, and composites where released volatiles can affect odor, bubbles, blistering, discoloration, bonding, thermal durability, or process windows.
TGA-FTIR data quality depends strongly on sample mass, atmosphere, heating rate, gas flow, transfer-line temperature, spectral collection parameters, and target analytes. BOC Sciences develops sample-specific testing strategies to reduce condensation, separate overlapping events, and improve assignment confidence.
BOC Sciences helps clients connect thermal mass loss with chemical gas identification, enabling clearer decisions in formulation development, polymer selection, process troubleshooting, outgassing studies, and material comparison.
BOC Sciences integrates key TGA-FTIR components to ensure stable thermal control, efficient gas transfer, and reliable infrared spectral acquisition.
Our scientists design sample-specific TGA-FTIR methods to improve event separation, gas identification, and reproducible thermal-gas correlation.
We convert synchronized thermal and FTIR data into chemically meaningful interpretation for volatile release, degradation behavior, and material comparison.
BOC Sciences applies structured quality control practices to support dependable TGA-FTIR results, traceable data review, and consistent analytical performance.
BOC Sciences adapts TGA-FTIR workflows for each project so that clients receive more than thermal curves or spectra alone; they receive a structured explanation of what was released, when it was released, and why it matters for formulation, synthesis, processing, compatibility, or material performance.
Share your sample matrix, expected temperature range, target volatile species, atmosphere preference, reference samples, and decision objective. Our specialists will design a project-specific testing plan using analytical technologies that support reliable thermal-gas correlation and meaningful interpretation.
We review the sample chemistry, physical form, expected mass-loss range, known processing history, volatile concerns, suspected decomposition mechanism, and comparison groups.
We select sample mass, pan configuration, purge gas, heating rate, temperature window, isothermal hold, and replicate plan.
We collect TG, DTG, temperature, time, Gram-Schmidt, and FTIR spectral data during the heating program. Our scientists review signal timing, spectral intensity, baseline behavior, gas-cell response, potential carryover, and overlap between gas bands before assigning major thermal events and selecting representative spectra.
Our report summarizes mass-loss stages, evolved-gas profiles, assigned functional groups or likely compounds, temperature windows, comparative sample differences, and interpretation limitations. Where appropriate, we recommend complementary testing such as chromatography, DSC, particle analysis, or stability studies to answer the next development question.
Conventional TGA can show when a sample loses weight, but it cannot identify the gases responsible for that event. BOC Sciences uses coupled FTIR gas analysis to connect mass-loss steps with IR-active species, helping clients distinguish moisture, residual solvents, decomposition fragments, carbonate release, additive volatilization, and oxidation-related gases.
Complex formulations and polymer blends may release several volatiles within a narrow temperature range. Our workflow adjusts heating rate, atmosphere, scan interval, and isothermal segments to improve event separation. We also compare TG/DTG patterns with time-resolved spectra so overlapping signals are interpreted with practical confidence notes.
Solvent retention, plasticizer release, moisture evolution, and curing byproducts can affect film appearance, bonding, foaming, odor, coating defects, or thermal endurance. BOC Sciences designs TGA-FTIR studies around real processing temperatures and material-use conditions so clients can refine drying, curing, blending, or thermal-treatment windows.
A failed or outlier sample may show similar total mass loss but different gas-release chemistry. We compare reference and suspect batches side by side, identify temperature-specific gas markers, and relate differences to formulation composition, raw material variation, thermal history, aging, contamination, or process changes.
Collaborate with BOC Sciences to design TGA-FTIR experiments that reveal volatile release, decomposition chemistry, outgassing behavior, formulation compatibility, curing response, and material failure mechanisms with clear, decision-ready interpretation.
BOC Sciences does not use a one-condition-fits-all heating method. We design TGA-FTIR programs according to sample chemistry, expected volatile species, decomposition complexity, atmosphere sensitivity, target temperature range, and the client's practical decision objective.
Our scientists support API solids, excipients, formulations, polymers, coatings, adhesives, catalysts, and energy materials, enabling TGA-FTIR interpretation that reflects both chemical behavior and application context rather than isolated spectra alone.
BOC Sciences provides TG/DTG profiles, evolved-gas spectra, temperature-linked assignments, comparative observations, and practical explanations of what each release event may mean for formulation screening, material selection, processing, or troubleshooting.
TGA-FTIR results can be connected with DSC, chromatography, FTIR, particle characterization, moisture analysis, and particle size distribution testing when clients need a more complete view of material behavior.
Client Needs: A pharmaceutical development team working with a weakly basic crystalline API suspected that a late-stage drying change altered solvate behavior and increased thermal instability during formulation screening.
Challenges: The first mass-loss step was small and overlapped with moisture release, while the second step produced broad IR bands that could represent either retained solvent or early decomposition fragments.
Solution: We designed staged TGA-FTIR runs under inert atmosphere using three heating rates and two isothermal holds around the first DTG peak. Across 18 sample-reference runs, we aligned Gram-Schmidt traces with selected spectra and compared C–H, carbonyl, and O–H bands to separate residual solvent release from early API fragmentation.
Outcome: The study showed that the drying change increased retained solvent release below the formulation process temperature, helping the client refine drying conditions and select the more stable solid-form lot.
Client Needs: A materials team developing a multilayer packaging film needed to understand why one adhesive-laminated lot produced odor and small bubbles after heat sealing.
Challenges: Total TGA mass loss was similar between the reference and suspect films, but the failed lot released volatiles over a narrower temperature window close to the heat-seal process range.
Solution: We sectioned representative film regions and analyzed reference, suspect, and adhesive-only samples by TGA-FTIR using a process-relevant temperature ramp. More than 120 time-resolved spectra were reviewed, and solvent, ester, aldehyde, and CO2 bands were mapped to DTG events to distinguish adhesive residue from polymer backbone degradation.
Outcome: The suspect lot showed a concentrated solvent-release event near the sealing temperature, supporting the client's adjustment of adhesive drying and post-lamination conditioning parameters.
Client Needs: An energy materials group needed to compare two electrode binder systems and determine whether gas evolution during thermal treatment contributed to pore formation and coating defects.
Challenges: The electrode slurry contained carbon black, polymer binder, inorganic active powder, and residual processing solvent. Overlapping thermal events made standalone TGA insufficient for explaining defect origin.
Solution: We performed TGA-FTIR under inert and oxidative atmospheres on dried electrode coatings, binder-only films, and solvent-spiked controls. Using 24 comparative runs, we assigned H2O, CO2, carbonyl-rich fragments, and aliphatic bands across three decomposition zones, then linked gas-release intensity with coating porosity observations.
Outcome: The comparison identified one binder system with earlier volatile release and stronger carbonyl signals, guiding the client toward a lower-defect drying and thermal-treatment window.
TGA-FTIR Testing is a hyphenated evolved gas analysis technique that combines thermogravimetric analysis with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In this method, a sample is heated under controlled temperature and atmosphere conditions, while TGA records changes in sample mass caused by dehydration, volatilization, decomposition, oxidation, or residue formation. At the same time, gases released from the sample are transferred through a heated line into an FTIR gas cell, where infrared absorption bands are used to identify molecules such as H2O, CO2, CO, NH3, organic vapors, acidic gases, and other volatile degradation products. Therefore, TGA-FTIR not only shows when weight loss occurs, but also helps explain what chemical species are released during each thermal event.
TGA-FTIR Testing is especially useful when researchers need to understand the chemical reason behind thermal weight loss rather than simply measuring thermal stability. It can help distinguish moisture release, residual solvent evaporation, plasticizer loss, monomer release, side-chain cleavage, polymer degradation, inorganic salt decomposition, and oxidative breakdown. For complex samples, similar TGA weight-loss profiles may correspond to very different gas-release mechanisms. By correlating temperature, mass change, and FTIR gas spectra, BOC Sciences helps clients interpret thermal events more clearly and connect the data with formulation screening, material selection, processing temperature evaluation, impurity investigation, and degradation mechanism studies.
In pharmaceutical research and development, TGA-FTIR Testing can be used to study APIs, excipients, salts, co-crystals, amorphous solid dispersions, polymer carriers, and prototype solid formulations. It helps determine whether a thermal event is associated with water loss, residual solvent release, excipient-related volatilization, API degradation, or interaction between formulation components. For example, if an API-excipient mixture shows a new weight-loss step or new infrared gas bands compared with the individual components, TGA-FTIR can help evaluate whether the change is related to a specific volatile product or thermal behavior shift. This makes it valuable for solid-state comparison, formulation compatibility assessment, and processing-condition optimization.
Standalone TGA provides information such as weight-loss percentage, decomposition temperature, thermal stability trend, and residue content, but it cannot directly identify the chemical composition of the released gases. Standalone FTIR can provide functional group information, but it usually lacks synchronized temperature and mass-loss correlation during heating. TGA-FTIR combines the strengths of both techniques by linking thermal events with real-time infrared spectra of evolved gases. This allows researchers to assign each weight-loss stage to possible released species and degradation pathways. The approach is particularly helpful for complex formulations, polymers, composites, excipient systems, coatings, and unknown volatile or decomposition behavior.
TGA-FTIR Testing is suitable for samples that release volatile or semi-volatile compounds during heating, including APIs, intermediates, pharmaceutical excipients, polymers, elastomers, coatings, adhesives, resins, catalyst supports, bio-based materials, packaging materials, inorganic salts, and composite materials. It is most valuable when the project goal is not only to measure weight loss, but also to understand what is being released at each temperature stage. Typical targets include H2O, CO2, residual solvents, monomers, plasticizer-related components, acidic gases, and small molecules generated from thermal degradation. BOC Sciences can design test conditions according to the sample matrix and provide temperature-resolved spectral interpretation for research decision-making.
We already had TGA curves, but we did not know what caused each weight-loss step. BOC Sciences connected the thermal events with FTIR gas spectra and gave our formulation team a much clearer explanation.
— Dr. Neumann, Pharmaceutical Development Scientist
Our coating defect investigation required more than a simple mass-loss number. Their TGA-FTIR workflow helped us identify the temperature range where solvent-related signals became critical for our process.
— Mercier, Materials Project Lead
The team adjusted heating programs and atmospheres for our complex polymer samples instead of applying a generic method. The report clearly separated moisture release, additive loss, and decomposition-related gases.
— Picard, Senior Polymer Chemist
BOC Sciences gave us spectra, thermal curves, and practical interpretation in one package. The comparison between our reference and failed samples directly supported our next formulation and process decisions.
— Ferraro, Analytical Development Manager
If you have any questions or encounter issues on this page, please don't hesitate to reach out. Our support team is ready to assist you.
