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Glovebox Raman Spectroscopy for use with active materials e.g. plutonium.
- Partner:National Nuclear Laboratory
- Facility:Central Laboratory
Or call us now on 0161 275 8382
Detailed Description
The NNL flagship Central Laboratory in Sellafield hosts a number of state of the art Pu active gloveboxes. Specially designed for flexibility, the layout of each one can be customised to suit users’ needs.
The suite of gloveboxes and other cutting edge equipment allows experiments to be carried out with more civil plutonium than any other research laboratory in the UK.
There are 2 gloveboxes fitted with Raman spectroscopy capability. Renishaw Raman spectrometer is capable of analysing solid and liquid samples operating within a fumehood (x,y,z mapping capability) or a glovebox (manual x, y z control). The fumehood setup can analyse radioactive samples (3.7 E7 Bq alpha, 1.7 E10 beta depending on the sample type and containment) using 514, 633 or 785nm lasers. Higher activity samples can be analysed within a glovebox environment using fibre optic probes (514 and 785 nm).
Uses/Applications
Observing vibrational, rotational, and other low-frequency modes in active materials
- 8 high integrity Pu active gloveboxes (with Pu experiments of up to 100g) including 2 interconnected boxes
- 4 gloveboxes available with N2 or Ar atmosphere control with gas lines for localised atmosphere control
- Variable air changes per hour for specific requirements, i.e. dry or wet operations
- All gloveboxes fitted with UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy capability
- 2 gloveboxes fitted with Raman spectroscopy capability
- Feed lines installed to allow inactive solutions and cooling water to be pumped into the boxes
- 10 supporting fumehoods for preparation of radioactive materials and samples for analysis
- Bulkhead connectors (240v and 110v) installed for electrical appliances, e.g. furnaces, balances, stirrers, hotplates, auto-titrators, etc
- Other Fischer connectors available for thermocouples, pH electrodes and such