Latest News

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) is an advanced analytical technique for interrogating the molecular composition of a sample at extremely low limits of concentration.

The conventional ICP method involves the dissolution of sample material in a molten eutectic mixture, which is then nebulized and sprayed through an argon (Ar) plasma torch. Typical temperatures in an ICP array are sufficient to ionize the atoms of virtually any chemical element. These ions are then sampled, segregated, and characterized based on their unique mass-to-charge ratios and spectral characteristics. This technique is widely used to detect and quantify trace elements to sub-parts per million (ppm) limits.

• Wh...

Glass manufacturing is an age-old industry encompassing an extremely diverse range of production techniques. Blowing glass is perhaps the most iconic of these. It exploits the unique viscosity of molten glass by blowing air into the melt, causing it to expand and gradually cool into the desired shape. This is an extremely specialized process where expert glassblowers spool the molten material at the end of a blowpipe before shaping individual components via blow-through. Various platinum products have been developed to take advantage of this viscosity to enhance the underlying melting process in glass furnaces.

Both proprietary glassblowing and commercial-scale float glass manufacturing use melting furnaces to reduce silica sand and additional raw materials to a workable molten s...

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is one of the most robust high-technology solutions for materials characterization and analysis. It is both sensitive and precise, with detection limits as low as the sub-parts per billion (ppb) range for cutting-edge laboratory applications. The specifications of most industrial users are satisfied with the detection and identification of elements at the parts per million (ppm) range. ICP subsequently exceeds the expectations of industrial sample analysis in terms of accuracy and analytical throughput. (more…)