I'm dealing a lot with very viscous liquids, mostly dissolved polymers like PMMA. Often I want to take some of it, without caring too much about the exact amount, to use for blade coating, or to divide it in separate vials to test different additives. With a normal pipette I have to to this very slowly and carefully, and it is hard to take a lager amound like a few mL. I know positive displacement pipettes can solve this, but this is an expensive solution, since I don't need accurately calibrated amounts. I just want an easy way to move a small amount from one place to the other. Any suggestions?
In my practice for viscous liquids which could still flow more or less evenly (up to 50 000 mPas) I take single-use PP pipettes and cut a tip diagonally with scissors. This action increase cross section and makes it easier to suck decent amount (2-3 ml) of liquid. Diagonal cut is better in my opinion because it makes new "tip" that allows to dose samples more precisely.
If you are handling pastes or very viscous liquids (500 000 mPas and more) I would recommend to use a plastic syringe ( cut a tip as well) or small spatula.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Physical Sciences
- Materials Science
- Materials
- Polymers