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Crucible Fatigue: How to Extend Platinum Labware Life in High-Volume Lithium Labs
Global demand for lithium has redefined the pace of analytical workflows, forcing laboratories into near-continuous fusion cycles that leave little margin for material fatigue. Platinum labware is central to lithium fusion workflows used in X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, valued for its chemical inertness and thermal stability, but repeated exposure to extreme temperatures and reactive fluxes introduces a slow, less visible risk. Crucible fatigue develops incrementally, and as a primary component of platinum labware, it becomes a critical constraint for high-volume lithium labs. In their workflows, managing degradation is as vital as maintaining throughput and data quality. Extending platinum labware life thus becomes a matter of process optimisation, where the stresses driving fatigue in platinum cruc
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Using Fusion to Protect the Purity of Rare Earth Samples From Contamination
Fusion has become a critical tool for protecting the integrity of rare earth element (REE) samples, where even minor contamination in the sample matrix can influence analytical results. Much of this risk originates during sample preparation, when the material is most exposed to external interference. Common methods such as milling, acid digestion, and pellet pressing introduce variability through direct interaction with the sample. To remove these sources of uncertainty, fusion equipment converts the entire sample into a molten phase under controlled conditions, ensuring complete dissolution and forming a stable, homogeneous matrix for analysis.
The Contamination Risks of Traditional Methods
Traditional preparation techniques have long su
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Beyond the Crucibles: Using Thermogravimetric Analysis to Lock Sulfur and Halogens into XRF Beads
Lithium borate fusion is designed to simplify complex materials into uniform glass beads, but this homogenization can mask the behavior of volatile components. Sulfur and halogens often react differently under heat, transitioning out of the fusion environment before they can be incorporated into the melt. Such losses undermine the analytical value of the XRF bead. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) establishes a structured methodology for investigating these responses, enabling laboratories to characterize decomposition pathways and design fusion conditions that actively retain, or effectively lock, sulfur and halogens into the final glass matrix.
Using TGA to Map Decomposition and Mass Loss
TGA offers direct insight into the conditions under which volatile elements
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