Cross-Scale Molecular Analysis of Chemical Heterogeneity in Shale Rocks.

ABSTRACT: The organic and mineralogical heterogeneity in shale at micrometer and nanometer spatial scales contributes to the quality of gas reserves, gas flow mechanisms and gas production. Here, we demonstrate two molecular imaging approaches based on infrared spectroscopy to obtain mineral and kerogen information at these mesoscale spatial resolutions in large-sized shale rock samples. The first method is a modified microscopic attenuated total reflectance measurement that utilizes a large germanium hemisphere combined with a focal plane array detector to rapidly capture chemical images of shale rock surfaces spanning hundreds of micrometers with micrometer spatial resolution. The second method, synchrotron infrared nano-spectroscopy, utilizes a metallic atomic force microscope tip to obtain chemi

SUBMITTER: Hao Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5803189 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature