High Pressure Infrared Studies of Liquids with the Diamond Anvil Cell

The diamond anvil cell (DAC) has been used in many high pressure studies. Its simplicity and convenience make it an attractive tool for infrared, Raman, and visible-ultraviolet investigations of condensed phases. Unfortunately, although quite large pressures can be applied to samples in the cell, it is difficult to determine pressure values with reliability. This note describes our experience in using the DAC for quantitative infrared studies of liquids at pressures in the 0 to 12 kbar range.