For 15 years, Netzsch
Analyzing & Testing and Bruker Optics have been providing their customers
an optimal combination of two analysis techniques. According to the motto "TG
plus FTIR - More than just the sum of its parts!" - the coupling
of thermogravimetry (TG) and Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy provides
its users a significant additional benefit and a comprehensive gain in information.
While thermogravimetry yields information regarding characteristics and thermal
stability of materials, FT-IR spectroscopy is an established method for indentifying
substances and quantifying sample components. So the combination of both techniques
opens up new possibilities for analyzing macroscopic material characteristics
on molecular level.
The Netzsch/Bruker-TG-FTIR-coupling has been developed by engineers of both
companies. The main goal of this close cooperation has been to find an optimal
combination of the two analysis systems with regard to capacity and ease-of-use
of the complete system.
With the TG-FTIR coupling, both companies provide their customers a unique
system for analyzing important material properties. In the field of polymer
manufacturing and processing, for example, additives can be identified and even
quantified. Moreover, the coupling technique gives a valuable insight into the
aging and decomposition processes, even in interaction with different atmospheres.
The identification and quantification of solvent residues as well as the determination
of the storage stability of formulations are by now routine methods in the pharmaceutical
industry, but only the TG-FTIR coupling is capable of yielding these measurement
results with only one single experiment. The number of possible fields of application
is immense because the combination of thermal and molecular- spectroscopic analyses
is capable of revealing fundamental chemical and physical properties of a huge
number of materials.
Over the years, both companies have been constantly improving this TG-FTIR
coupling technique to offer the best possible solution for the individual analytical
questions of their customers. Besides the optimal combination of both analysis
techniques, companies also focus on a competent customer service. For this reason,
supporting customers on application matters, offering training courses and organizing
information events will be an integral part of this successful cooperation also
in the future.