August 7, 2007

a break from recycling, and some crystals

Finally, some good news. But first an update on the frustrations of the Ir recycle project. The setup for chlorination was tested, but due to operator error, some adjustments may have to be made. I'm suspicious that the dedicated gas regulator for the Cl2 gas tank is corroded to the point of uselessness, however this is no excuse for ineptitude, at least not yet. In better news, I have located a muffle furnace, so perhaps this is an end to the current destruction of crucibles from around the department. More on that later.

CRYSTALS! A vial left in the freezer has yielded some needly orange crystals. Perhaps not the best for crystallographic analysis, but the crystallographer here thought they would be just fine. Currently I'm awaiting time on the diffractometer, so we'll wait before I declare total success. I'm still counting it as a triumph to get crystals at all, though.

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