Hi Tim,


pretent you would like to measure 18O in nitrates; prepare some fresh 
silver nitrate from a nitrate solution by precipitation, put the precipate 
in a few tin capsules and leave them to sit for the time it takes your 
solid autsampler to go through one entire revolution and look at the 
capsules then. This will answer your question.


Basically, you have answered your question yourself. Silver is a noble 
metal with a positive redox potential and, hence reasonably impervious to 
oxidation (the operative word being 'reasonably'). Under the conditions of 
their intended use, this is true for silver capsules.


Wolfram



On Jul 19 2006, Tim Prokopiuk wrote:

> Greetings...
> 
> Is anyone running a TC/EA using tin capsules for loading samples  
> instead of silver capsules?  I am wondering why people use silver so  
> often on the TC/EA...is it that there might be some oxidation of the  
> tin capsules which may contaminate samples?  If so is there not the  
> same fear with silver, or does silver not oxidize to the same extent  
> as tin?
> 
> Thanks...
> 
> Tim Prokopiuk
> 
> -------------------------------------------------
> Tim Prokopiuk
> B. Sc. Geology/Technician
> Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory
> Room 241
> Department of Geological Sciences
> University of Saskatchewan
> 114 Science Place
> Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
> S7N 5E2
> Phone: (306) 966-5712
> Fax: (306) 966-8593
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
>