TGA Buoyancy & Baseline Drift

Some vendors refer to TGA baseline drift, and buoyancy as an unavoidable characteristic of TGA performance. For poorly designed thermobalances this is true. Often they require large expensive circulators, awkward static dissipation techniques, and baseline subtraction routines to achieve reasonable thermogravimetric data. These questionable, and inefficient practices are an example of BAD SCIENCE. It requires roughly double the experimental time, and is based on the dangerous assumption that the instrument's baseline is absolutely reproducible.

A requirement for accurate and precise TGA measurements is the ability to produce stable weight signals (flat, reproducible baselines) over a wide temperature range, or over long periods of time.

The new Q5000IR TGA from TA Instruments delivers the baseline quality required for high sensitivity measurements, without relying on baseline subtraction techniques and other gimmicks. The Q5000IR tightly controls the temperature and other design aspects (purge gas dynamics, static electricity effects, and smooth sample loading) to achieve baselines that are 10X better than other commercial units even at temperatures up to 1200C.