Analytical Services
New prices since 06/2018! We are your partner for fast and reliable analytical work of mineral phases and compounds!
With our unique combination and comprehensive analytical methods (P-XRD, SC-XRD, SEM-EDS and Raman spectroscopy) we are the leader for analytical identification of mineralogical samples and compounds within Germany. It is important to us that you will have a definite determination of your samples. Therefore we are specialists for several methods that we combine to identify unknown mineral phases. If your sample should be an unknown phase to date, a complete structural solution might be the next step till the mineral will be accepted as a new species. We will help you in this process with all our experience.
If you should have another request and you think we might be the best partner for, don´t hesitate to write us an e-mail via our contact form. We offer a wide range of x-ray, spectroscopic techniques for crystalline matter and also methods for element quantification.
Guidelines for the choice of an analytical method for phase ID:
Chemical analysis of a sample (EDS Analysis)
The energy dispersive xray analysis carried out with a SEM gives information about the chemical compounds within the sample. The data is semi-quantitative and made under variable pressure to avoid carbon coating of non conductive, non-flat samples.
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Raman Spectroscopy on mineralogical samples (Raman Spectroscopy)
Raman spectroscopy allows the identification of small amounts of unknown crystalline solids by inelastic scattering of light due to vibrational transitions within the molecules scale. When there is a Raman transition of a molecule group within the crystal, the light is emitted at a different wavelength compared to the incident light wavelength and we observe a peak in the spectrum at a certain value on the x-axis (Raman-Shift). In consequence a complex spectrum with many transitions is obtained for a certain crystal structure which is then compared against the database. Even if the Raman spectrum is not always as helpful as powder data it allows to obtain data from an extremely small sample amount without destruction.
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XRD - Xray Powder Diffraction (P-XRD)
Powder diffraction of a sample (P-XRD) allows the identification of crystalline phases by observing the diffraction conditions of the crystal structure at a specific x-ray wavenlenght (CuKalpha). The sample becomes crushed and powdered to obtain diffraction condition for all crystallite orientations at different 2Theta angles. Apart from qualitatitive phase ID, we offer Rietveld refinement for the determination of the phase volume or refinement of a crystal structure. The minimum amount is around a few mg. With the standard configuration the FWHM is ~0.15° 2Theta.
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SXRD - Single Crystal Diffraction (S-XRD)
Single crystal diffractomety, a standard for structure solution and refinement, allows a fast determination of the lattice parameters and space group of single crystals. It is of importance when there is not enough sample amount for Bragg Brentano diffraction experiments (PXRD). A small amount of polycrystalline material can be then mounted on the capillary and high intensity data without favoured orientation can be obtained while resolution is sacrificed (~0.4° 2Theta resolution in a standard experiment).
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Photography service of minerals (Macrophotography- Stacking)
We also offer a wide range of methods to photograph small regions of interest.