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Porous mateials studied:
Sol-gel & CPG silicas
MCM templated silicas
SBA templated silicas
Activated carbons
Biochar
Zeolites
Catalysts
Cement & Concrete
Fired & unfired clays
Marine Sediments
Chalks, Shales
Sandstones
Oil-bearing rocks
Meteorites
Wood
Paper
Rubbers
Emulsions & Paint
Artificial skin
Bone
Melanised fungal cells
Hydrogels
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Lab-Tools Ltd. is a micro/SME spin-off company
specialising in nano-science, nano-metrology and
instrumentation design.
- Nano-science :
- The study of the nano-scale properties of liquids
in pores and at interfaces, primarily using NMR & SANS;
- Application of the Gibbs equations to the
nano-scale dynamics of liquids/ ices;
- Neutron Diffraction Cryoporometry to study
crystal phases.
- Nano-metrology :
- Bulk nano-scale to micro-scale structural
characterisation;
- NMR Cryoporometry to measure pore-size
distributions, surface areas and pore volumes;
- Neutron Scattering SANS & modelling
techniques to measure nano-structural dimensions.
- Instrumentation :
- Highly compact precision MK4
based on VLSI, FPGAs, firmware and array-processing software.
- Peltier cooled NMR instrumentation for pore-size measurement
- US Patent 14/416,409.
Highly compact precision MK4 NMR relaxation spectrometer
based on VLSI, FPGAs and array-processing software.
- Lab-Tools Mk3 precision digital NMR Time-Domain NMR Relaxation Spectrometer - exhibits good long-term stability.
- Fast spectrometer recovery enables measurement of short T2 decay times.
- Has a wide range of automated single- and multi- component polynomial, exponential and Gaussian fitting routines for on- and off-line analysis.
- Can measure dynamics and mobility in solids - even measures relaxation times in rigid materials like brittle ice.
- Ideal for measuring calibrated quantities and mobilities of hydrocarbons in rock or biochar pores.
- Precision thermo-electric wide-range temperature measurements capability : -50C to +80C. Wider temperature ranges on request.
- Nano- through meso- to micro- pore-size distributions measured using NMR Cryoporometry.
- Measures diffusion rates in liquids, in a static magnetic gradient.
- Performs 1-D Imaging as a function of time, in static magnetic gradients.
Lab-Tools NMR Relaxation Spectrometer - 2019-09-04.pdf
Lab-Tools NMR Relaxation Spectrometer - Instrument.pdf
Lab-Tools NMR Relaxation Spectrometer - Example Measurements.pdf
#mri : Preliminary Imaging Results using the Lab-Tools Mk3 NMR Spectrometer.pdf
#diffusion : Measurements of Diffusion rates in liquids, using the Lab-Tools Mk3 NMR Spectrometer.pdf
Papers and Posters prepared using the Lab-Tools Mk3 and Mk2 Spectrometers
Please do contact us :
Lab-Tools NMR Spectrometer Contact Form
Lab-Tools also develop, operate and sell NMR Cryoporometry
apparatus that is optimised to measure pore sizes,
pore size distributions and pore volumes and to study
materials that are structured on a sub-1nm to over 1μm length
scale. Most finely porous
materials are suitable for such studies, provided that a
liquid can be added or
is already present.
Lab-Tools NMR Relaxation Spectrometer - NMR Cryoporomety pore size measurement.pdf
This apparatus is based on wide-temperature range
low-field
NMR relaxation spectrometers with ultra-precise
temperature control. A new generation of NMR instrumentation VT
is now ready for release. Peltier or gas cooled
probes are available from Lab-Tools for use with the Lab-Tools NMR spectrometer, or to retro-fit
industry standard NMR spectrometers, for your own NMR
pore-size measurements.
Background information on the Cryoporometric technique is
available at www.cryoporometry.com/
.
Lab-Tools performs Contract Measurements on Porous
Systems for
both academia and industry.
Lab-Tools performs research to study the properties
of
liquids and their ices / gas hydrates in structured
materials and at interfaces.
The studies we perform are relevant to :
-
Understanding the properties of water/ice at
hydrophilic/hydrophobic and biological interfaces.
-
Understanding how to increase recovery from oil and gas
reservoirs,
-
Determining the properties of methane hydrate in model
and real marine porous systems,
-
Informing research on porous catalyst support systems,
-
Studying properties that affect the frost resistance of
cement and fired clay,
-
Informing high performance nano-structured battery
research,
-
Helping predict the longevity of biochar for carbon
sequestration.
Lab-Tools performs industrial contract analyses and also
joins with other bodies such as universities to perform
academic research.
Lab-Tools has close ties with academics at a number of
universities.
Lab-Tools performs NMR contract
analyses, including both measurements of dynamics/mobility/rigidity using NMR relaxation, and of Pore Size Distributions using NMR
Cryoporometry :
Lab-Tools has successfully measured pore sizes
in a wide range of porous materials, including
oil and/or water wet materials. NMR
Cryoporometry is one of the few techniques that
can be applied to materials that can not be
dried out without losing their structure. The
technique is non-destructive, and can be used to
follow evolution of pore structure for evolving
systems.
The Lab-Tools pore-size distribution measurement
range extends from sub 1nm to over 1µm. NMR
Cryoporometry measures both the total pore
volume and the pore volume distribution as a
function of pore diameter.
We frequently find that NMR Cryoporometry (NMRC)
may be preferable to more established methods
such as BET gas adsorption or DSC thermal
porisimetry, and can now also provide
information on both pore diameter and pore
throat size, unlike Hg Intrusion, which just
measures the pore throat.
NMR Cryoporometry measurement costs are very
competitive.
Cost per sample depends on the pore-size range to be covered, and
precision needed, but goes down markedly for
multiple-sample batches.
Please contact us to discuss pore size measurements
Lab-Tools NMR Analysis Contact Form
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Academic Consultants :
Prof John H. Strange:
(NMR & porous media) : Emeritus
Professor of Experimental Physics, School of
Physical Sciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NZ.
~160 Publications
Prof J. C. Dore:
(Neutron scattering & liquids in confined
geometry) :
Emeritus Professor in Condensed Matter Physics,
School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent,
CT2 7NZ
~160 Publications
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Normalised example pore size distributions, measured by NMR
Cryoporometry.
Pore size distributions for a clay fired at three different
temperatures, measured by NMR Cryoporometry.
2D Resolved Pore Sizes - 4 tubes with different nano-pores,
measured by spatially resolved NMR Cryoporometry.
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Lab-Tools is a Micro/SME spin-off from the University
of Kent Physics
department, but has now moved the NMR research and
development laboratory to a new purpose designed facility near Ramsgate, in Kent.
Director Dr. Beau Webber
has held
has held positions at the University of Kent, honorary
and otherwise, for many years, and has held
research
fellow positions at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, honorary and otherwise.
He has an extensive publication record in the fields of
nano-metrology and the
properties of liquids, ices and gas-hydrates in pores and
at interfaces :
www.lab-tools.com/publications/Webber_JBW.html
Grants :
Lab-Tools has won a 1.188
million Euro EU FP7 grant, in conjunction with
Agricultural Requisites And Mechanizations Limited,
Lightmain Company Limited,
Oxyguard International AS,
Technosam SRL,
The Nottingham Trent University and
Universitat Politecnica De Catalunya.
This project "Autonomous Reed Bed Installations (ARBI)"
will enable the consortium to develop ecologically sound
and sustainable modular reed-bed installations for
purifying waste-water.
Multiple nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) installations,
buried in the reed-beds, will be used to monitor their
life-cycle, so that corrective action can be taken to
prevent clogging and extend their life.
Director Dr. Beau Webber has completed an academic project
using Lab-Tools' capabilities, together with the Centre
for Gas Hydrates Research at the Institute of Petroleum
Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, for three years, to a
value of £285,731. :
EPSRC: EP/D052556/1 : "Capillary
controls on gas hydrate growth and dissociation in
synthetic and natural porous media: PVT, NMR, Neutron
Diffraction and SANS".
Final Grant Report
Publications :
Director Dr. Beau Webber now has about 50 published papers, including two
techniques papers published in Physics Reports, one on
neutron scattering, one on NMR :
Nano-metrology of porous structures - I. Using neutron
scattering to access pore lattice, diameter and wall
parameters, by comparison with direct calculation of
scattering from models of extended arrays of regular or
randomised pores.
J.Beau W. Webber. Physics Reports, 526, 4, 227-248, 2013.
DOI: 10.1016/j.physrep.2013.01.002 .
The other Physics Reports paper was written jointly with
Kent and Cambridge Universities : Review
of NMR Cryoporometry, DOI: 10.1016/j.physrep.2008.02.001
.
We have developed and demonstrated the first practical
protocol for making 1, 2 and 3 dimensionally resolved
measurements of
volumetric metrology.
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