Thermogravimetric analysis or
thermal gravim analysis (TGA) is a method of
thermal analysis in which changes in physical and chemical properties of materials are measured as a function of increasing temperature (with constant heating rate), or as a function of time (with constant temperature and/or constant mass loss). TGA can provide information about physical phenomena, such as
second-order phase transitions, including
vaporization,
sublimation,
absorption,
adsorption, and
desorption. Likewise, TGA can provide information about chemical phenomena including
chemisorptions,
desolvation (especially
dehydration),
decomposition, and solid-gas reactions (e.g.,
oxidation or
reduction).