Improvements in a tunable diode laser spectrometer to measure 13 C/12C isotope ratios in carbon dioxide

CHED 1411

Brian L Brethauer, bbreth@altelco.net, George C McBane, mcbane@gvsu.edu, and Stephanie A. Schaertel, schaerts@gvsu.edu. Department of Chemistry, Grand Valley State University, 1 Campus Dr, Allendale, MI 49401
The goal of this research is to build a relatively inexpensive, portable and accurate instrument for finding the 13C/12C isotope ratio in CO2 samples. Finding these ratios has applications in the environmental and medical fields. The spectrometer uses a single-pass design with wavelength modulation and balanced 2f detection. Improvements in the gas handling, optical layout, and control software will be described.
 

Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Physical Chemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, March 26, 2007 Hyatt Regency Chicago -- Riverside Center, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 233rd ACS National Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 25-29, 2007