How clean is your solvent!

Everything relating to microscopy hardware: Objectives, eyepieces, lamps and more.
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Element 56
Posts: 330
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2016 3:48 pm
Location: Lancaster County, PA

How clean is your solvent!

#1 Post by Element 56 » Thu Sep 10, 2020 10:57 pm

I was just going through some of my files and ran into a hard copy of this interesting article. I thought some here would enjoy it. It's relevant to more than optics and worth reading even if you don't use solvents to clean lenses.

https://www.osapublishing.org/ao/abstra ... 56-13-3875

Kirby

Sabatini
Posts: 464
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 3:09 am

Re: How clean is your solvent!

#2 Post by Sabatini » Fri Sep 11, 2020 12:53 am

Element 56.
Thank you .

Element 56
Posts: 330
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2016 3:48 pm
Location: Lancaster County, PA

Re: How clean is your solvent!

#3 Post by Element 56 » Fri Sep 11, 2020 1:04 am

Sabatini wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 12:53 am
Element 56.
Thank you .
You are welcome and thanks for saying thanks!
Kirby

MichaelG.
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Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:24 am
Location: North Wales

Re: How clean is your solvent!

#4 Post by MichaelG. » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:13 am

Thanks for the reference ... hopefully I can access it via the library:
https://www.osapublishing.org/ao/viewme ... 3875&seq=0

MichaelG.
Too many 'projects'

Element 56
Posts: 330
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2016 3:48 pm
Location: Lancaster County, PA

Re: How clean is your solvent!

#5 Post by Element 56 » Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:41 pm

MichaelG. wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:13 am
Thanks for the reference ... hopefully I can access it via the library:
https://www.osapublishing.org/ao/viewme ... 3875&seq=0

MichaelG.
Michael,

You shouldn't have any problem accessing that but if you do lat me know. I can email you a copy.

Kirby

MichaelG.
Posts: 3976
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:24 am
Location: North Wales

Re: How clean is your solvent!

#6 Post by MichaelG. » Fri Sep 11, 2020 9:10 pm

Thanks for the offer, Kirby
... All O.K. via the library.

Very interesting ... ‘though the IPA performance is rather worrying !

MichaelG.
Too many 'projects'

Element 56
Posts: 330
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2016 3:48 pm
Location: Lancaster County, PA

Re: How clean is your solvent!

#7 Post by Element 56 » Fri Sep 11, 2020 10:33 pm

MichaelG. wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 9:10 pm
Thanks for the offer, Kirby
... All O.K. via the library.

Very interesting ... ‘though the IPA performance is rather worrying !

MichaelG.
IPA leaves residue which is another good reason not use it by itself.

I'm also very picky about solvent storage and more so after reading the article. Those laboratory squirt bottles can really get bad over time. We had some of the Bel-Art acetone bottles at work that had a valve in them that started to breakdown and contaminate parts. It got chalky! guess they say "not recommended for storage" for a reason! They would sit on a shelf full for who knows how long before getting used. I have also had them crumble in my hands which is a clear indication that its time to replace it! :mrgreen:

Kirby

Hobbyst46
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Re: How clean is your solvent!

#8 Post by Hobbyst46 » Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:12 am

MichaelG. wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 9:10 pm
Very interesting ... ‘though the IPA performance is rather worrying !
I would not worry much about it, at least until someone shows, to which extent does the thin film left of the surface by the evaporating solvent (as done in the article!) interfere with optical microscopy. And, absolutely pure IPA (or any other solvent) should not leave any residue. Admittedly, HPLC-level solvents that the authors of the article used are way too expensive for common hobby use.

Moreover, the conclusion of the authors of the article - that solvents should be kept in all-glass jars or containers - is not practical IMHO. Commercial solvents must be stored and dispatched in hermetically sealed containers. The same holds for small amounts on the laboratory (or home) bench. There is no way to seal glass jars with glass stoppers at the level that plastic (and certain high quality rubbers) do.

Even glass jars are not totally fool-proof against contamination of the contents. I have just opened a dark-brown 50ml glass bottle that has contained distilled water for about 2 years, and found a thin layer of brown-black precipitate on the bottom. Might be traced back to organic residue or organism in the original DW or to airborne organisms that found their way inside when the stopper was removed. However the bottom line (pun) is to avoid long-term storage of liquids in general. Just my opinion.

Element 56
Posts: 330
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2016 3:48 pm
Location: Lancaster County, PA

Re: How clean is your solvent!

#9 Post by Element 56 » Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:49 am

Long term solvent storage is problematic. You do your best to minimize contamination especially and obviously in critical applications. Buying solvents one gallon at a time opposed to 5 gallon containers and frequently replacing the squeeze bottles has been a big help in our lab.

I personally do keep my slower moving solvents in glass containers. My glass containers have Teflon seals and I wrap the lids with Parafilm. I don't like the metal containers that cheap solvents come in and I like to keep them in smaller containers because they're easier to handle.

Kirby

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