Combination of Sorting Techniques

Luminescence and LIBS techniques may b e used simultaneously with the same basic equipment. This property may be effectively used in minerals sorting. Besides that, other methods such as Raman and SHG may be effective. 

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It is clear, however, from the range of studies discussed above, that a combination of different techniques is likely to offer the best way to study this sort of system at the present time. 

The latest innovation is the introduction of ultra-thin silica layers. These layers are only 10 xm thick (compared to 200-250 pm in conventional plates) and are not based on granular adsorbents but consist of monolithic silica. Ultra-thin layer chromatography (UTLC) plates offer a unique combination of short migration distances, fast development times and extremely low solvent consumption. The absence of silica particles allows UTLC silica gel layers to be manufactured without any sort of binders, that are normally needed to stabilise silica particles at the glass support surface. UTLC plates will significantly reduce analysis time, solvent consumption and increase sensitivity in both qualitative and quantitative applications (Table 4.35). Miniaturised planar chromatography will rival other microanalytical techniques. 

High-temperature pyrolysis techniques are now applied with surprising selectivity, leading to all sorts of bowl-shaped molecules, which are substructures of C60 and higher fullerenes. Combinations of saturated and unsaturated, acyclic and cyclic fragments with acetylenic subunits have led to two-dimensional and three-dimensional arrays and all-carbon networks. 

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