The TGA/STA-QMS 403 D Aëolos® quadrupole mass spectrometer is a new compact mass spectrometer with a heated capillary inlet system for routine analysis of gases and, in particular, volatile decomposition products of thermal analysis. This system has been optimized for coupling to differential scanning calorimeters, dilatometers and thermogravimetric analyzers by:
- Increasing the temperature of the entire gas transfer system to 300°C
- An improved single-stage inlet system with a low-reaction fused silica capillary in the ion source
- Integration of the mass spectrometer software and data exchange for user-friendly operation from the Proteus® thermal analysis software.
The high temperature of the gas transfer system and the absence of pressure reduction orifices practically eliminate condensation of decomposition products during thermal analysis experiments. This achieves a high detection sensitivity and facilitates quantitative detection of all identified gas components.
Via the inlet system with the fused silica capillary, other gas sources can be investigated with the TGA/STA-QMS 403 D Aëolos® independent of thermal analysis; for that purpose, the QMS is operated with the self-contained software.
The concept of the NETZSCH thermal analysis instruments has been laid out from the start for coupling with gas analysis systems like the TGA/STA-QMS 403 D Aëolos®, through consistent optimization of the gas paths with complete heating from the furnace to the gas detector. This eliminates gas loss through condensation at cold spots and only very low carrier gas flows are sufficient for complete transfer. The minimal dilution of the volatile sample products released results in high detection sensitivity with theTGA/STA-QMS 403 D Aëolos®.