Catalog

Fluorolube® is a fluorinated hydrocarbon solvent that is ideal for preparation of samples 
Nujol® is a high purity mineral oil that is used for the preparation of mull samples 

Alkali Halide crystals (KBr, KCI and NaCl) are cubic in structure. They can be cleaved to relatively precise shapes. Applications range from teaching aids to electronics to crystal blanks for polished optics.

KBr powder is graded solely by purity standards that are relevant to infrared spectroscopy. We do not use such terms as 5 9s (99.999%) , 6 9s (99.9999%) as the means used to test material for such certifications, such as emission spectroscopy, do not detect the types of contaminants that produce absorption bands in an infrared spectrophotometer. In the industry, the highest specification for transmission optics is beam splitter grade material which is generally specified by FTIR spectrophotometer OEMs as material having absorption bands due to impurities of less than 1% measured at 4 wave resolution between 4400cm-1 and 450cm-1. The cut off for commercial grade KBr crystal optics at ICL is material having absorption bands due to impurities of less than 2% at 4 cm-1 resolution. Other manufacturers use a looser standard. SpectroGrade™ KBr powder is all made from crystal boules that are suitable for IR spectroscopy based upon ICL’s testing standards. FTIR Grade SpectroGrade™ KBr powder is made from KBr crystal boules that are not quite beam splitter grade material and is defined as material that does not have any absorbance peaks in excess of 1.5%. FTIR Premium SpectroGrade™ is the equivalent of beam splitter grade material, and it is made from a blend of KBr crystal boules in which peaks range from 0.9% to 1.1% . XL Ultrapure SpectroGrade™ is a blend of material from rare boules that exhibit absorbance bands under 0.8% and the impurity range goes down to 0.2%. Sample purity certificates as pdf files can be printed from this site.

Keep your powder dry! And clean. Grind your own from random cuttings of ICL’s own pure crystal boules. We provide only the cleanest and highest transmission materials, free from spurious absorption bands.

Use of paper inserts facilitates mounting small samples and pressing KBr pellets. Paper inserts are used to make KBr pellets by dropping them into the bore of a 13mm die set.  These inserts frame the pellet for ease of handling and also provide a visual reference for the proper amount of KBr powder which improves pellet quality and consistency.

Magnetic holders are convenient for holding KBr pellets or thin polymer films. They are also useful for mounting a 13mm crystal that has been used as a microscope slide in a standard spectrophotometer sample compartment. The film sample, pellet or optic is held in place by a magnetized rubber plate. These holders fit the universal 2" x 3" slide mount in all spectrophotometers. Use of paper inserts facilitates mounting small samples.

ICL’s popular Econo Cards are an ideal vehicle for mounting KBr pellets and polymer films or for use with disposable polyethylene IR transmission windows. They are available with 19mm and 9.5mm circular apertures. Econo Cards have a pressure sensitive adhesive on the inside surface, but the adhesive is kept away from the aperture and outside of the path of the spectrophotometer beam to avoid spurious absorbance peaks. The sample is mounted on the adhesive surface and the card then folds over into a 2" x 4" card that can be inserted in the slide mount in any spectrophotometer or used to store the sample for future reference.

ICL’s agate mortars and pestles are the ideal tool for grinding a matrix of a solid sample with KBr powder in preparation for making a transparent pellet free from spurious absorption peaks.