Specac has introduced heated puck accessories for the market pioneer Quest™ ATR. The system has the potential to analyze both solid and liquid samples at up to 110 °C.
The systems that could be analyzed at this temperature include oils, soaps, proteins and trans-fats. The puck employs monolithic diamond ATR crystals, with ZnSe as an option. Diamond is the most suitable for most of the applications, exhibiting exceptional physical toughness and chemical resistance. And ZnSe can be used in areas where the diamond has photon absorbances.
The precision and stability of temperature control are improved by using a high-precision 4-wire RTD sensor. The monolithic diamond ATR crystals enable the accessories to be as robust and as chemically resistant as the standard Quest ATR.
Specifically, when it comes to the diamond material, Specac avoid utilizing the laminated diamond/ZnSe of their competitors. This is because it is prone to breakage when subjected to point loads and narrows the spectral range of the accessory.
A PC application is used to control the temperature of the accessory. This plots the temperature of current accessories against experiment time, as well as the target temperature the program is trying to reach. It is possible to program multiple temperature “ramps” and “dwells” in the application’s program editor.
Heated Puck for Quest ATR FTIR Accessory User Guide
Video Credit: Specac Ltd
Specac has already presented the use of the Quest Heated Puck in two different temperature-controlled experiments. The first analyzes the phase transition temperature of a soap/stearic acid system. The second analyzes the physical separation of butter into solid and liquid phases.
Summary of Key Features
- Precise and stable temperature quantification through 4-wire RTD sensor
- High-grade chemical and physical robustness offered by monolithic diamond ATR crystals
- Potential to heat liquid and solid samples up to 110 °C
- Easy to set and log temperature via PC software and compact USB interface
- Retrofits to all Quest range of accessories