Do other people make there own CoCl2 paper?? If so, how do you do it?
I've checked "The Laboratory" and used that method.
I have used Cobalt(II)chloride hexahydrate do make it and at the moment the paper is a purple/pink. I am drying it in the incubator.
Does this sound right??
So far so good. Remove the drying trays from the oven while still hot, and with forceps, place the strips in a air tight wide neck jar, amber glass is better, with a good lid. Put some Silica in the bottom, Blue & Pink beads, they will help keep the Moisturiser out of the Cobalt Chloride paper. Cover the beads with a little dried cotton wool or a piece of Filter paper works well.
If the paper turns pink, heat it again as before until it turns blue again.
Do not handle the paper with fingers as mositure from the skin will affect it.
Last edited by Labbie on 01 Nov 2007, 09:03, edited 1 time in total.
Reason:spellling
Regards Labbie
Lab Manager/Lab Tech, mind reading etc etc
Now retired
I usually air dry the cobalt chloride paper to a certain point and then place in a jar with a screw top lid and about a half inch or more of silica gel in bottom of container. The silica gel must be a blue colour as I have found once it becomes pink it is no longer effective for removing moisture. If paper is turning pink replace the silica gel with a fresh batch.
Well isnt that what the colour changing is for, if the beads turn purple/pink you know theres moisture in the jar, ie they have done their job. You dont have to get ridd of the pink beads, you can recover most of them by putting into incubator for a few days to dry, most will turn blue again. I do my cobalt chloride paper same way as pommy, works well!
I, too treat both Silica Gel and Cobolt Chloride paper as a renewable resource. I dry them both out in the incubator untill they are blue. Blue, good: Pink, bad!
I do the whole process - dry in the incubator, place in screwtop jar with silica etc, but we still have to cure them and dry them out before we use them - JUST before. Some days the colour change is literally seconds after they come out of the incubator. Oh well.
