Abstract
Hydrocarbon fluid inclusions have been synthesized in halogenide and sulfate crystals at low temperature (< 100 °C) and atmospheric pressure. Water-immiscible hydrocarbon droplets were either trapped separately or with an aqueous and/or a vapor phase. Impurities on the crystal surface were verified by infrared microspectrometry, and the similarity between the initial liquid and the liquid trapped in the inclusion was documented by Raman microspectrometry for nonfluorescent compounds. This inclusion type represents a new tool for understanding inclusion-formation phenomena and for the calibration of techniques used in hydrocarbon fluid-inclusion analysis (μFT-IR, μRaman, μUV-fluorescence, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry); these inclusions allow one to obtain microthermometric calibration curves with a high precision at low temperature.
