We discuss situations where thermogravimetric/Fourier transform infrared (TG/FT-IR) plots are obtained which differ substantially from the expected ones. The most common of these situations involves samples that release atmospheric components (H2O, CO2) at low temperatures. It is shown that the phenomena are mainly related to the purging action of the carrier gas, which strongly influences the spectroscopic portion of the TG/FT-IR plot. Such an influence, as well as the different situations originating from it, is discussed and explained on the basis of an analogy with the operational mode of a conventional dispersive spectrometer.
