Re: mixing samples with oil/grease to make them moisture-proof?

Apurva ( mehta@SLAC.Stanford.EDU )
Thu, 13 Aug 1998 16:42:21 +0100

At 04:15 PM 8/13/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Hi everyone,
>
>Some samples I am working on are very hydroscopic and hydrate/dehydrate
>very quickly around 100 Celsius degree in the air. I am thinking the
>possibility of mixing them hot with some oil/grease to make them
>moisture-proof, then put the pate on sampleholders and take x-ray
>scan. Any comments or suggestions here? I would also appreciate any input
>on other ways to get rid of the problem. Thank you very much and in
>advance.
>

You must remember that oil/grease diffracts as well. For example, Silicone
vacuum grease exhibits a few well defined broad diffraction peaks. Duco
cement has even more prominent diffraction spectrum.

Why not seal the sample in a (0.3 or 0.5 mm) glass or quartz capillary and
collect data thus? We do this routinely with our air/moisture sensitive
samples.

Apurva
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Apurva Mehta
SSRL/SLAC
PO Box 4349, MS 69
Stanford, CA 94309
(650) 926 4791
(650) 926 4100 - FAX

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