The atmospheric Ar/N2 ratio is expected to be useful as a tracer of air-sea heat exchange, but this application has been hindered in part due to sampling artifacts. Here we show that the variability in δ(Ar/N2) due to thermal fractionation at the inlet can be on the order of 40–80 per meg, and we introduce the use of an aspirated solar shield that successfully minimizes such fractionation. The ...

A microscale thermal field-flow fractionation (micro-TFFF) system has been designed, fabricated, and characterized. Motivation for miniaturization of TFFF systems was established by examining the geometrical scaling of the fundamental TFFF theory. Miniaturization of conventional macroscale TFFF systems was made possible through utilization of micromachining technologies. Fabrication of the micr...

A new thermal field-flow fractionation (ThFFF) method has been developed for the separation and analysis of polyacrylates and acrylic-styrene copolymers. This important class of polymers is commonly used as pressure sensitive adhesives, in coatings and paintings, and as the basis for polyelectrolyte materials. The structure and chemical composition of these polymers play a vital role in the end...

Samples produced in piston cylinder experiments were used to document the thermal isotopic fractionation of all the major elements of basalt except for aluminum and the fractionation of iron isotopes by chemical diffusion between a natural basalt and rhyolite. The thermal isotopic fractionations are summarized in terms of a parameter Xi defined as the fractionation in per mil per 100 C per atom...

A thorough investigation of the design considerations for microscale thermal field-flow fractionation and characterization of a 25 μm thin microscale thermal field-flow fractionation system is reported. A 4-50 times volume reduction from mesoscale and macroscale systems warrants customized design and operational conditions for microscale separation systems. Theoretical calculations are done to ...