High vacuum cells for classical surface techniques

Abstract

Novel glass cells were designed and built to be able to perform surface potential and surface tension measurements in a contained environment. The cells can withstand pressures of approximately 1x10{sup -6} Torr, providing a reasonable level of control in terms of the amounts of volatile contaminants during experimentation. The measurements can take several hours; thus the cells help maintain the integrity of the sample in the course of the experiment. To test for the feasibility of the cell design, calibration measurements were performed. For the surface potential cell, the modified TREK 6000B-7C probe exhibited performance comparable to its unmodified counterpart. The correlation measurements between applied potential on the test surface and the measured potential showed R-values very close to 1 as well as standard deviation values of less than 1. Results also demonstrate improved measurement values for experiments performed in vacuum. The surface tension cell, on the other hand, which was used to perform the pendant drop method, was tested on common liquids and showed percentage errors of 0.5% when compared to literature values. The fabricated cells redefine measurements using classical surface techniques, providing unique and novel methods of sample preparation, premeasurement preparation, and sample analysis at highly beneficial expenditure cost.