title: Attenuated total reflectance powder cell for infrared analysis of hygroscopic samples.
abstract: An attenuated total reflectance (ATR) sample cell has been designed, manufactured and subsequently used for the mid-infrared analysis of hygroscopic samples. This sample cell was installed as a simple drop-in replacement for the cell supplied with our commercially available Harrick Mvp-Pro FTIR-ATR accessory. Calcium chloride, a well-known desiccant that has a propensity to absorb water into its crystal lattice, was selected as non-infrared active substrate to accentuate the efficacy of the cell in preserving the anhydrous state of the sample by straightforward monitoring of the water bands. In contrast, mid-infrared spectra are presented that qualitatively demonstrate the rapid rate at which atmospheric moisture is incorporated into the anhydrous sample when analyzed using the conventional ATR cell assembly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation Ltd., P.O. Box 582, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. mpho.lekgoathi@necsa.co.za
authors.forename: M D S
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lekgoathi
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: le Roux
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D004867:Equipment Design; D011208:Powders; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: D011208:Powders; D014867:Water