Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

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Uncover the world of polymers, microplastics, and emerging contaminants

Accurately analyze polymer degradation products, microplastics, and emerging contaminants across environmental testing and industrial R&D and QA/QC applications.

 

Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) is the ideal solution for your environmental and industrial testing laboratory’s most challenging sample analysis. Unlike other techniques, Py-GC-MS requires minimal sample preparation, works with solid or cross-linked materials, and delivers detailed chemical fingerprints of polymers, additives, and degradation compounds.

How Pyrolysis-GC-MS works

Py-GC-MS, which couples the Frontier Lab™ Multi-Functional Pyrolyzer with Thermo Scientific GC-MS Systems, breaks samples into volatile fragments and uses GC for separation to rapidly analyze complex, solid, or insoluble materials, including plastics, polymers, coatings, and environmental particulates.

 

In Pyrolysis-GC-MS, a small amount of sample is heated in the pyrolyzer furnace, producing characteristic pyrolysis products. These fragments are separated in a gas chromatography column and identified by mass spectrometry.

Frontier Lab Multi-shot Pyrolyzer EGA/PY-3030D

Environmental market applications

For environmental testing laboratories, Py-GC-MS enablesrapid detection of microplastics and polymer contaminants in complex environmental matrices, provides confidence in meeting stringent regulatory requirements with robust, reproducible data, and enables higher throughput thanks to minimal sample prep and automated workflows.

  • Microplastics in water, soil, and air: Identify polymer types and quantify levels down to micrograms.
  • Emerging contaminants: Detect trace levels of plasticizers, additives, and degradation products.
  • Regulatory monitoring: Support compliance with environmental directives and evolving regulatory frameworks.

Industrial market applications

For industrial QA/QC and R&D laboratories, Py-GC-MS provides reliable insights into polymer composition, stability, and degradation pathways, allows fast troubleshooting for material defects, contamination, or product failure, and supports innovation in battery materials, coatings, packaging, and advanced polymers.

  • Polymer degradation and failure analysis: Investigate coatings, resins, and plastics for defects, contamination, or material aging.
  • Food packaging and consumer goods: Identify residual monomers, additives, or migration products in packaging polymers.
  • Battery and electronics materials: Characterize binders, separators, and polymeric residues in lithium-ion batteries and electronic components.

Key features and benefits

Rely on trusted technology partners: Frontier-Lab for pyrolysis innovation and Thermo Fisher Scientific for market-leading GC/GC-MS solutions.

Adaptable to solid or polymeric materials even if cross-linked or insoluble
The multi-functional Pyrolyzer offers single-shot / multi-shot, reactive pyrolysis, micro- and macro-sampling options.

Selectivity in complex environmental matrices and identification of unknowns
Ideal for routine QA/QC and advanced R&D, Thermo Scientific GC/GC-MS single quadrupole when coupled to high-resolution Orbitrap GC technology.

Save time and reduce potential for contamination or sample loss
Spend less time with minimal sample prep by direct analysis of solids, powders, and films for environmental and industrial labs.

Broad dynamic range & low detection limits
Quantify trace µg levels (or lower) and higher concentrations in a single method or across similar runs.

Faster data analysis
Experience automated polymer type recognition, additives, and quantitation as well as SMART data processing with software & library support including F-Search and environmental pollutant libraries.

Greater flexibility, upgradeability, and return on investment
Benefit from configurable workflows with adaptable setup for micro-sampling, thermal desorption, and cryo-trapping.

Analytical workflow

  1. Place a small sample (e.g., plastic shred, environmental particulate, coating flake) into the Frontier-Lab Pyrolyzer.
  2. The pyrolyzer thermally degrades the sample in an oxygen-free environment, generating volatile fragments (degradation products).
  3. Fragments enter the Thermo Scientific GC-MS system, where they are separated by a dedicated column.
  4. The mass spectrometer identifies and quantifies the compounds, aided by powerful libraries for polymer and additive identification.
Thermo Scientific ISQ 7610 GC-MS with Frontier Lab Pyrolyzer

Educational resources

Pyrolysis-GC-Orbitrap MS - a powerful analytical tool for microplastics in complex biological matrices

Open new possibilities for targeted and untargeted analysis of microplastic polymers in biological matrices with high resolving power and mass accuracy.

Microplastic identification in water and food using pyrolysis coupled to Orbitrap GC-HRMS

Discover high selectivity and sensitivity with Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer combined with a targeted screening approach.

Profiling of plastic polymers using pyrolysis coupled to GC-MS

Identify and quantify 12 most common polymers from plastic samples collected on the beach with Pyrolysis coupled to the ISQ 7610 single quadrupole GC-MS.

Mapping plastic exposure with scalable Pyrolysis-GC-MS

Monitor microplastics exposure for environmental and biological matrices with scalable and reliable methods in Pyrolysis-GC-MS approaches.

Speak to a representative

Learn more, schedule a demo, or ask for a quote for Py-GC-MS, which requires minimal sample preparation, works with solid or cross-linked materials, and delivers detailed chemical fingerprints of polymers, additives, and degradation compounds.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.