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How Does a Hydraulic Press Work?
A hydraulic press is used to consolidate sample materials into a flattened disc or pellet of consistent flatness and density. This is ideal for x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis which provides both quantitative and qualitative measurements of a sample’s elemental composition based on its subvisible excitation wavelengths. Matrix effects from surface variations and localized heterogeneities can alter a sample’s emission spectra, impacting net spectral measurements and impairing the accuracy of XRF spectrometry results.
Compacting samples using a hydraulic press enables analysts to perform spectral measurements on an ideal surface that is as close to a homogeneous representation of the bulk material as possible.
In this blog post, we will explore the working principle of...
Semi-Finished Platinum Products: Foils, Ribbons, and Sheets
Platinum (Pt) foils, ribbons, and sheets are essential intermediary goods used to fabricate a broad range of end-products. Despite the scarcity of this inert metal, it has been used ubiquitously in scientific equipment manufacturing for almost two centuries. High-temperature crucibles manufactured from pure platinum and various platinum alloys have become fundamental components in chemical research facilities around the world. These platinum products are essential for some of the highest sensitivity processing applications on the planet, including x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) analysis.
Semi-finished platinum products boast far-flung product manufacturing capacities. This is due to the outstanding mechanical properties of platinum and its good affi...
3 Critical Steps for Precise Sample Preparation
Data integrity in analytical spectroscopy studies is dependent upon the performance of integral components and the method of sample preparation. This is true of both x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) techniques, which analyze extremely low-level optical signals to quantify the elemental composition of samples at the trace and ultra-trace scale.
Ongoing product care and calibration can minimize the potential for error from mechanical variations to negligible levels. This is a prerequisite for spectroscopy applications which must contend with avoidable phenomena such as laser drifting and the spalling of platinum labware. Optimal sample preparation, meanwhile, can be achieved through three critical steps.
