INFORMATION SHEET

HANDLING AND STORAGE OF WATER SOLUBLE CRYSTALS

The crystal elements in this shipment are water-soluble. Those who intend to use them are generally familiar with the need for thier proper handling and storage, however we believe the following suggestions may be useful, particularly for crystals with polished surfaces:

1. Hardness of these crystals range from 2 to 3 Moh's scale, and scratches can be made by cellulose wipers on some crystal species.
2. ADP (NH4H2PO4) and its isomorphs may begin chemical decomposition at various temperatures between 100°C and 150°c.
3. ADP and itsisomorphs at room temperature are stable in anhydrous atmosphere, but may be damaged by relative humidities above 80%.
4. Drastic chilling or warming of these crystals will cause shattering by thermal stresses more readily than in glass or quartz elements.
5. Crystals should be brought to room temperature slowly enough from a cooler condition to prevent dew-point condensation of moisture on thier surfaces. Storage in a dessicator or in a container of minimum gas volume during such temperature changes is a good precaution. Manual handling of crystals is most safely done with moisture-impervious finger cots or, better, on humid days, with plastic gloves.
6. Oils may be cleaned from crystals with any appropriate organic solvent, with caution taken that the kind, or amount, of such solvent used does not cause excessive chilling by evaporation. For ADP and its isomorphs we find water-free xylene to be generally satisfactory when used in still air at moderate humidity.
7. Polishing of water-soluble crystals requires techniques differing in important respects from those commonly used for materials such as glass and gemstones. We recommend that polishing be attemped only by those having experience with the particular crystal material in question.
8. Additional comments KB5 should never be stored with desiecant.