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Welcome to the Specac Summer 2011 News Bulletin.
We are the World’s leading spectroscopic accessory manufacturer, producing the industry’s widest range of Lab IR sampling accessories for solids, liquids & gases.
And our regular bulletin is here to keep you up to date with the latest news on all our new developments. You’ll also get a more in-depth look at some of the many products we offer, as well as advanced notification of the trade shows we’ll be attending.
Quicklinks : Click on any link below to take you to the story you are interested in...
A message from the Specac M.D. • New look Sales & Customer Service Team • Product Development • Product Demostrations • Product Profile • Application Notes • £25 Amazon Voucher • Tradeshows • Product Catalogue • Technical Questions?
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A message from David Smith, Managing Director
Specac is growing. With your help and support we’ve come through the worst of the recession and we now have strong growth plans for the future.
Our aim is to grow by 50% over the next three years, and we know we will only achieve that by bringing new products to market and matching, even exceeding your expectations for our levels of customer service. We continue to pride ourselves on the high specification products that we offer as well as the quality of our workmanship.
I will be visiting Europe, Asia and North and South America over the coming months and I’m always happy to open a dialogue with any of our customers in support of our excellent account management team.
I thank you for your continued support of our business.
David Smith
Managing Director
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New look Sales & Customer Service Team
As a result of the growth we’ve achieved over the last year we’ve decided to put additional resource into our sales and customer service team. We are currently recruiting a Sales Manager who will be based out of our Head Office in Kent, but have regular world wide travel.
 Hazel Hall has been appointed Customer Services manager and will be responsible for key customers, in addition to her roles as HR and Marketing Manager.
We have also recently appointed Jim Williams into an account management role. Jim has been with Specac for more than four years, during which time he has gained an in-depth knowledge of our products and applications. His new role will include building customer relations, customer demos and exhibiting at trade shows.
Liz Green joined us in May as our new Sales Office Assistant. Liz comes from the hotel and hospitality sector and is the new voice of Specac. She will be the main point of contact for many customers as her responsibilities include processing Purchase Orders and dealing with sales inquiries over the phone.
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Product Development
• New Silver Gate™ Evolution Crystal Plate
 In addition to the existing Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) and Germanium (Ge) crystal plates we are introducing a Silicon (Si) crystal plate for the Silver Gate Evolution. The Silicon crystal plate allows the Silver Gate Evolution’s spectral range to extend down to 30cm-1.
Silicon has a good chemical resistance and withstands a wider pH range than ZnSe (pH from 1 to 12 compared to 5 to 9 for ZnSe). It is also much harder (knoop hardness of 1150 against 105) and withstands thermal shock, though it is more brittle. It’s high refractive Index of 3.4 gives it a smaller penetration depth but increases the reflection losses in the crystal. It is useful particularly for Far IR in the region 400-30cm-1. For more information on Optical Materials for Spectroscopy please click here.
Click here for more information on the Siver Gate™ Evolution.
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Product Demonstrations
We want you to see how our products can benefit you and tailor a solution to your analytical needs. Specac is always committed to working closely with our customers to provide the right solutions, so we are offering a no obligation demonstration of our products at your lab or office (in the UK), or if you prefer you can come and visit us at our UK office and see our products here.
If you would like to arrange a demonstration please contact us at reach@specac.co.uk
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Product Profile
• Atlas™ Constant Thickness Film Makers
When it comes to turning samples into thin films under heat and pressure Specac offers two alternatives, the Atlas™ Constant Thickness Film Maker (GS15640) and the Atlas™ High Temperature Film Maker (GS15800). The films produced are 29mm diameter and can vary in thickness by use of spacing rings (0.015, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25 & 0.5mm).
The Atlas™ Constant Thickness Film Maker is designed to be used with the Atlas™ Heated Platens (GS15515) and the Manual Hydraulic 15 Ton Press (GS15011); this allows for temperatures of up to 300°C and the 4 ton maximum load for this film maker. Though capable of a 4 ton maximum load, most polymers and similar compounds give excellent results at only 1 ton.
Alternative Presses we offer that can be used are the Atlas™ 8 Ton Power Press (GS25400), Atlas™ 8 Ton Automatic Press (GS25440) and the Atlas™ Manual Hydraulic 25 Ton Press (GS25011).
The Atlas™ High Temperature Film Maker incorporates heating elements into the film making assembly so does not require the use of the Atlas™ Heated Platens. This inbuilt heating allows this unit to be heated to 400°C for samples with a melting point of over 300°C. The pressure is supplied via a press, most suited for use with the Manual Hydraulic 15 Ton Press, but can be used with the Manual Hydraulic 25 Ton Press and the Atlas™ 8 Ton Power or Automatic Press. The Atlas™ High Temperature Film Maker has a maximum load of 2 tons but like the Atlas™ Constant Thickness Film Maker acceptable results are normally achieved with a 1 ton load.
We offer a range of film maker kits which provide you with everything you need to produce your own films:
Atlas™ Constant Thickness Film Maker Kit I (GS15631) - Includes: Constant Thickness Film Maker (GS15640) and Heated Platens (GS15515)
Atlas™ Constant Thickness Film Maker Kit II (GS15633) - Includes: Constant Thickness Film Maker (GS15640), Heated Platens (GS15515) and Atlas™ 15 Ton Manual Hydraulic Press (GS15011)
Atlas™ High Temperature Film Maker Kit (GS15810) - Includes: High Temperature Film Maker (GS15800) and Atlas™ 15 Ton Manual Hydraulic Press (GS15011)
Click here for more information on Specac Film Makers, Presses, Heated Platens.
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Application Notes
• Powder Analysis with the Golden Gate™
 Introduction
Infrared quantitative analyses are an everyday requirement in the analytical laboratory. While liquid solutions are commonly analyzed, mixtures of powdered components also exist and often require quantitative analysis without dissolution into a solvent.
This paper outlines the development of quantitative analysis methods for two powdered mixtures.
The traditional infrared analysis method for powdered samples is the collection of a KBr pellet spectrum of an aliquot of the powdered sample. However, preparation of KBr pellets requires skill, and precise weighing of every component for each sample. The Golden Gate™ singlereflection diamond ATR provides a simple and effective alternative, suitable for the infrared analysis of powders.
The powdered sample is simply placed onto the ATR crystal and the sample spectrum is collected. The sapphire anvil ensures that up to 100 lbs load is evenly applied to the sample lying on the diamond micro-ATR crystal during sample analysis. The sample is then cleaned from the crystal surface and the accessory is ready to collect additional spectra. ATR analysis is less complicated than using KBr pellets, is fast and only requires a very small amount of the sample.
To develop the quantitative analysis method, a number of standard powder mixtures of known concentration are prepared and spectra are collected from aliquots of these standards. Specified analyte absorption bands are identified and the peak heights, or areas are calculated for the various standards.
The resulting quantitative data is examined by a least squares analysis based on Beer's Law, A = abc. Where, A = the absorbance value of an analyte band; a = the absorptivity coefficient of the analyte band - a constant; b = the pathlength - generally considered a constant; and c = analyte concentration.
Infrared quantitative analyses are an everyday requirement in the analytical laboratory. While liquid solutions are commonly analyzed, mixtures of powdered components also exist and often require quantitative analysis without dissolution into a solvent.
This paper outlines the development of quantitative analysis methods for two powdered mixtures.
The traditional infrared analysis method for powdered samples is the collection of a KBr pellet spectrum of an aliquot of the powdered sample. However, preparation of KBr pellets requires skill, and precise weighing of every component for each sample.
The Golden Gate™ single reflection diamond ATR provides a simple and effective alternative, suitable for the infrared analysis of powders.
The powdered sample is simply placed onto the ATR crystal and the sample spectrum is collected.The sapphire anvil ensures that up to 100 lbs load is evenly applied to the sample lying on the diamond micro-ATR crystal during sample analysis. The sample is then cleaned from the crystal surface and the accessory is ready to collect additional spectra. ATR analysis is less complicated than using KBr pellets, is fast and only requires a very small amount of the sample.
To develop the quantitative analysis method, a number of standard powder mixtures of known concentration are prepared and spectra are collected from aliquots of these standards. Specified analyte absorption bands are identified and the peak heights, or areas are calculated for the various standards.
The resulting quantitative data is examined by a least squares analysis based on Beer's Law, A = abc. Where, A = the absorbance value of an analyte band; a = the absorptivity coefficient of the analyte band - a constant; b = the pathlength - generally considered a constant; and c = analyte concentration.
 ATR spectra cannot be used with a quantitative method previously developed using transmission spectra due to differences in the relative peak intensity of the absorption bands - this is a result of the internal reflection mechanism of ATR accessories – as seen in the example, Figure 1, a plot of the transmission and ATR spectra of caffeine
However, a least squares relationship can be drawn for ATR spectra of quantitative samples.
Experiment and results
Spectra were collected using a Golden Gate™ Diamond ATR accessory equipped with ZnSe lenses and a single-reflection diamond ATR element. Without additional sample preparation sample aliquots of 5-10 milligrams were placed onto the ATR element and spectra collected.
For correlation with the ATR data, aliquots drawn from the standard powders were mixed with KBr powder, pressed into pellets and analyzed to provide transmission spectra. FT-IR spectra were collected at 4 cm-1 resolution to obtain the single-beam background, micro-ATR spectra and KBr pellet transmission spectra.
 
Figures 2 and 3 compare the fingerprint regions of the Golden Gate™ ATR spectra for the components used in the study; caffeine and starch in the first mixture, Ibuprofen and starch in the second. The analyte bands selected for the analysis of each component are labeled.
Three aliquots were analyzed for each powder standard using the ATR and KBr pellet methods. Two analyte bands were selected for each component in each mixture and peak ratios calculated based on the ratio of the peak heights of the active ingredient vs. the starch. An example of the repeatability of the Golden Gate™ ATR measurement is demonstrated in Figure 4, containing three spectra of a 25%concentration of ibuprofen in starch.
 
Figure 5 is a least squares plot of the ATR data, following the 743 and 995 cm-1 bands for caffeine and starch, respectively. Figure 6 is the least squares plot of the KBr pellet data using the same analyte bands. Table 1 contains the R and R2 values for the least squares analysis of the data from the two mixtures using the different analyte bands for each component.
These results demonstrate that the ATR method can provide repeatable quantitative results that are comparable to KBr pellet data.
Conclusion
The results show that the Golden Gate™ Diamond ATR can be used to produce quantitative data – the ability to clamp samples at very high loads ensures consistent results, while the use of a type IIIA diamond allows for extreme durability of the accessory.
The Golden Gate™ Diamond ATR is a simple and easy to use accessory providing a nondestructive technique to collect data from a minimal amount of sample, providing quantitative results similar to KBr pellet spectra in a faster less complicated fashion.
Author acknowledgement
Richard A. Larsen, Spectral Consulting
Click here for more information on the Specac Golden Gate™ ATR.
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• £25 Amazon Voucher for your Application Notes
 We're looking for people to write application notes about our products, if you have an interesting or unusual application for one or more of our products and are interested in writing an application note for us to publish please contact our marketing team (reach@specac.co.uk).
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Specac On The Road
• ACS Meeting Fall 2011, Denver, 28 August - 1 September 2011- Booth 524
Join us in Denver. Air and water mediate chemistry on Earth. And with countless planets orbiting distant stars, it makes you wonder what chemistries control their atmospheres. Explore these topics and more while taking in all that Denver has to offer. Specac will be at the 242nd ACS meeting, come and see a wide range of our products and meet members of the Specac team.
• JAIMA 2011, Chiba, 7 - 9 September 2011 - Booth 7B-604
The 49th JAIMA Expo will be held in Chiba City, Japan. Specac will be there in partnership with our Japanese distributors Systems Engineering, look out for their booth. There will be a wide range of our products on display as well as experts on hand to assist you.
• Analitica, Sao Paulo, 20 - 22 September 2011 - Booth UK1
The 11th Edition of Analitica Latin America will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Specac will be there with experts ready to help you choose the right accessory for your application. We will have a large selection of our products to show you in South America.
• Analytica India, Mumbai, 12 - 14 October 2011 - Booth B9D
Analytica Anacon India is an Indian trade fair with conference with international character designed to take exhibitors to new-developing market places of significant interest. The concept has been transferred from the world-leading trade fair analytica in Munich which guarantees a high participation of international exhibitors and market leaders.
Specac will be there with a range of our products on show and a team of experts there to help you tailor the correct accessory for your application.
• BCEIA 2011, Beijing, 13 - 16 October 2011 - Booth 9024
The Beijing Conference and Exhibition on Instrumental Analysis (BCEIA), sponsored by the China Association for Instrumental Analysis, and supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China has been a biennial professional international event in this field in China, enjoying the similar international status in China just as that of the Pittsburgh Conference and Exposition on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (PITTCON) in the United States.
If you’re planning on visiting the 14th BCEIA show in Beijing don’t forget to visit the Specac booth where you will find members of our sales and technical teams there ready to help you, and a wide range of our products.
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Specac Product Catalogue
• 2011 Product Catalogue available for download
Our 2011 Product catalogue is available as a pdf here or you can request a printed copy from reach@specac.co.uk
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Technical Problems and Questions
• Contact our Technical Support Team
Our technical experts are always willing to help our customers with their technical queries and issues. The team can be contacted via the "Technical Support" section of our website or by email: techsupport@specac.co.uk
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Email sales@specac.co.uk
