Hello all,

I've been attempting to run some Benzoic acid on the TCEA, however, it 
seems that after a little over ten samples have been run my peaks begin 
to tail until they they disappear. The cause of this problem is that 
the graphite crucible seems to be softening and degrading and so is not 
allowing the samples to reach the hot spot. I am wondering if maybe the 
benzoic acid is reacting with the graphite somehow. Or if , since we 
have been cleaning and reusing our crucibles, the crucibles themselves 
weaken over time.

I would be curious to know if anyone else has had this problem, and if 
anyone has any ideas as to what could be the cause.

Thanks in advance,

Adam

Adam Zoltan Csank
Department of Geological Sciences,
University of Saskatchewan,
114 Science Place,
Saskatoon, SK, Canada,
S7N 5E2
phone (o) (306) 966-5737
              (h) (306) 665-2797
email <[log in to unmask]>
http://homepage.usask.ca/azc461