SAMPLE PREPARATION

Generally speaking, both liquid and solid samples can be measured at the XAS beamline. Solid samples can be in the form of e.g. films, crushed powder, or homogeneous pastes, whilst liquids can be measured at room temperature or, more commonly, frozen in the 10K cryostat using a suitable glassing agent (to prevent diffraction of the X-ray beam). Please note that generally speaking we do freeze liquids in order to avoid gas / bubble formation during exposure, which may otherwise distort the spectra.

Well-considered sample preparation is an important pre-beamtime task. It has the potential to critically influence the experimental outcome and success. In summary, the small vertical beamsize coupled with a small, but noticeable, beam motion demands highly uniform samples as their homogeneity is directly related to obtained data quality.

You are encouraged to review the general information on sample preparation, the filter method for preparing certain samples (developed by one of our expert users), and our poster on sample homogeneity.

In the documents referred to above we use XAFSMass for calculating ideal sample mass / thickness for transmission. This program can be downloaded here.

SAMPLE HOLDERS

Please see this document for information on sample holders.

REFERENCE METAL FOILS and FILTER RANGE

The attached metal foils and filters are available for use.

TRANSPORT and DISPOSAL

Please navigate to the User Information pages to find information on safe transport and handling of samples and the disposal of chemical waste.