Capillaries prepared from thin-walled heat-shrink poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) tubing for X-ray powder diffraction analysis

Abstract

Thin-walled heat-shrink poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) tubing is reported for use as an alternative for glass and Kapton® capillaries. PET tubing displays properties such as low X-ray absorption and smooth diffraction profiles. The 2.0 mm thin-walled (0.05 mm thick) and 0.5 mm thin-walled (0.02 mm thick) heat-shrink PET capillaries are 86% and 96% transparent to 1.54 Å X-rays. The low X-ray absorption and relatively smooth X-ray scattering profile of PET make it an ideal material for the home laboratory where the long wavelength, low flux, and low brilliance X-ray sources are employed. PET capillaries can be easily cut and manipulated and fixed to copper pins, which in turn can be employed in low-temperature and automated data collection routines.