Synergic chemical analysis - the coupling of TG with FTIR, MS and GC-MS - 1. The determination of the gases released during the thermal oxidation of a printed circuit board

This contribution reports the coupling of TG with FTIR, MS and GC-MS (Synergic chemical analysis). During thermogravimetric analysis the gases evolved are analysed using 'real-time' FTIR and MS. Simultaneously the gases are collected on an absorbent trap (organic trap module, OTM) for subsequent analysis using GC-MS. As an example the technique has been used to identify the products evolved from a printed circuit board during thermal oxidation. The use of TG-FTIR-MS-OTM-GC-MS provided information that could not be available through single techniques alone. For example, it was possible to ascertain the temperature range over which bromophenol was released. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.