How Do You Store Potassium Bromide Used For IR?
Organic chemists use infrared spectroscopy (IR) to study molecular bonds. Potassium bromide is a salt used in IR spectroscopy as a support because it has no absorption band in the infrared region. In order for it to be an effective support, it must be kept completely dry. Potassium bromide is either used as a plate (called “salt plates”) or a powder. The plates are cut from a single crystal of potassium bromide. The plates are reused, while the powder is discarded after each use. New powder and plates should be stored in a dry, nitrogen-flushed environment. Step 1 Put on the nitrile gloves. Once the spectroscopy experiment is complete, wash each potassium bromide plate with anhydrous acetone. Step 2 Use a scientific cleaning wipe to gently remove any excess acetone left on the plates. Step 3 Place the plates into the chemistry oven. The temperature should be set around 100 degrees celsius. Step 4 Leave the plates in the oven for at least 1 hour. If the plates are going to be used often
