Your selection of ppropriate grinding and mixing containers is as important as your choice of mill. The proper grinding vial or dish will greatly enhance analytical accuracy. The grinding cont-ainer is generally harder than the material to be ground and should be of substance whose presence in the sample will not interfere with analysis. SPEX SamplePrep's containers have been selected with care to offer optimum capability in the lab.

Methacrylate and polystyrene vials and balls are ideal for pulverizing soft, brittle materials and for mixing and storing powders.With these vials only traces of organic impurities are added to your sample.

Hardened steel is durable and tough, suitable for general-purpose grinding; it's the workhorse of the lab.When hard substances are ground in steel containers, some Fe and Cr contamination can be expected. Stainless steel is less subject to chemical attack, but contributes Ni as well. Halide-releasing compounds corrode steel and should be ground in tungsten carbide, alumina, agate, zirconia, or silicon nitride containers.

Tungsten carbide vials and dishes re the most effective and versatile of all. Because tungsten carbide is substantially harder and heavier than steel, grinding is faster and contamination is minimal. Other than tungsten, cobalt (a binder)is the major contaminant. If cared for, tungsten carbide containers will last indefinitely. They ’re recommended as long-term “best buy ”for grinding almost anything.

Alumina ceramic is ideal for extremely hard samples, or in cases where steel and tungsten carbide contaminants are objectionable. All SPEX SamplePrep alumina components re 99.5%pure aluminum oxide, with some silicon, calcium, and magnesium present. It is lightweight and brittle but very abrasion-resistant. Necessary for an important minority of samples, alumina ceramic vials are a helpful addition to any lab’s grinding armory.

Agate is harder than steel, and chemically inert to lmost anything except HF. It ’s also brittle and must be handled with care. Our 3118 and 8014 agate vials are for the grinding and mixing of samples when organic and metallic contamination are equally undesirable. Agate is 99.9% silica and is extremely wear-resistant.

Silicon nitride is a tough space-age material with remarkable wear characteristics, and hardness superior to agate and zirconia. If it is important to have a container whose only major contaminant is silicon, consider SPEX SamplePrep silicon nitride. It is extremely durable compared to agate, and while it contains some yttria and alumina, overall contamination levels will be very, very low.

Zirconia is ceramic which in many ways approaches the ideal grinding medium. Since it is both hard and tough it wears very slowly, adding little contamination. It is about one and one-half times as dense as alumina, grinding almost as fast as steel. And because it is mostly zirconium oxide with low percentages of magnesium oxide and hafnium oxide, the contamination SPEX SamplePrep zirconia ceramic does contribute is often not important to the analyst.