Standard Capillaries
XPDF uses bespoke capillaries which interface easily with the beamline sample holders. They come in two main varieties:
Borosilicate Capillaries
Borosilicate is a cheap and easy to work glass which should be used for all cases except those that require temperatures > 500°C.
Chemical Formula | Si0.798B0.221Al0.023Na0.066K0.006O2 (Schott Duran Data Sheet) |
|---|---|
Density | 2.23 g·cm-3 |
Outer Diameter | Inner Diameter | Wall thickness | Length | Volume | filled mass* with ρ = 1 g·cm-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.0 mm | 0.78 mm | 0.11 mm | 40 mm | ~ 19 μL | ~ 9.5 mg |
1.5 mm | 1.17 mm | 0.165 mm | 40 mm | ~ 43 μL | ~ 21.5 mg |
2.0 mm | 1.56 mm | 0.22 mm | 40 mm | ~ 76 μL | ~ 38.0 mg |
Silica Capillaries
Sometimes called "fused quartz" or incorrectly just "quartz", silica has a significantly higher working temperature so can be used for studies > 500°C. We also have some smaller capillaries for very absorbing samples.
Chemical Formula | SiO2 (Fused Quartz Data Sheet) |
|---|---|
Density | 2.203 g·cm-3 |
Outer Diameter | Inner Diameter | Wall thickness | Length | Volume | filled mass* with ρ = 1 g·cm-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.4 mm | 0.3 mm | 0.05 mm | 50 mm | ~ 3.5 μL | ~ 1.8 mg |
1.0 mm | 0.8 mm | 0.1 mm | 50 mm | ~ 25 μL | ~ 12.5 mg |
1.5 mm | 1.3 mm | 0.1 mm | 50 mm | ~ 66 μL | ~ 33 mg |
2.5 mm | 2.3 mm | 0.1 mm | 50 mm | ~ 208 μL | ~ 104 mg |
*Assumed packing fraction of 0.5
Outer Diameter | Inner Diameter | Wall thickness | Length | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1/8" (3.178 mm) | 2.90 mm | 0.139 mm | 75 mm | One end sealed |
1/8" (3.200 mm) | 2.89 mm | 0.155 mm | 75 mm | Straight through |
1/16" (1.578 mm) | 1.36 mm | 0.110 mm | 60 mm | Straight through |
1/16" (1.578 mm) | 1.36 mm | 0.110 mm | 60 mm | One end sealed |
Kapton/Polyimide Capillaries
Kapton capillaries are used for weakly scattering samples as the contribution from kapton is much less than that of borosilicate. Kapton is delicate and not suitable for variable temperature measurements and samples with chemical incompatibility or air sensitivity. We currently use LewVac Components as our supplier.
Outer Diameter | Inner Diameter | Wall thickness |
|---|---|---|
2.11 mm | 2.06 mm | 0.025 mm |
1.52 mm | 1.45 mm | 0.035 mm |
1.07 mm | 1.02 mm | 0.025 mm |
Deciding on Capillary Type & Size
From above, our capillaries come in a number of materials and sizes and it may be confusing to decide what type is appropriate for your sample.
A useful link for calculating absorption can be found here