TY - JOUR A1 - Winckelmann, Alexander A1 - Morcillo Garcia-Morato, Dalia A1 - Richter, Silke A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian A1 - Riedel, Jens A1 - Vogl, Jochen A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - Determination of lithium in human serum by isotope dilution atomic absorption spectrometry N2 - The therapeutic dose of lithium (Li) compounds, which are widely used for the treatment of psychiatric and hematologic disorders, is close to its toxic level; therefore, drug monitoring protocols are mandatory. Herein, we propose a fast, simple, and low-cost analytical procedure for the traceable determination of Li concentration in human serum, based on the monitoring of the Li isotope dilution through the partially resolved isotope shift in its electronic transition around 670.80 nm using a commercially available high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer. With this technique, serum samples only require acidic digestion before analysis. The procedure requires three measurements—an enriched 6Li spike, a mixture of a certified standard solution and spike, and a mixture of the sample and spike with a nominal 7Li/6Li ratio of 0.82. Lanthanum has been used as an internal spectral standard for wavelength correction. The spectra are described as the linear superposition of the contributions of the respective isotopes, each consisting of a spin-orbit doublet, which can be expressed as Gaussian components with constant spectral position and width and different relative intensity, reflecting the isotope ratio in the sample. Both the spectral constants and the correlation between isotope ratio and relative band intensity have been experimentally obtained using commercially available materials enriched with Li isotopes. The Li characteristic mass (mc) obtained corresponds to 0.6 pg. The procedure has been validated using five human serum certified reference materials. The results are metrologically comparable and compatible to the certified values. The measurement uncertainties are comparable to those obtained by the more complex and expensive technique, isotope dilution mass spectrometry. KW - Lithium KW - Human serum KW - Isotope dilution KW - Atomic absorption spectrometry KW - High-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-532446 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03636-6 VL - 414 IS - 1 SP - 251 EP - 256 PB - Springer CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-53244 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Winckelmann, Alexander A1 - Nowak, S. A1 - Richter, Silke A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian A1 - Riedel, Jens A1 - Vogl, Jochen A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - High-Resolution Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Combined With Machine Learning Data Processing for Isotope Amount Ratio Analysis of Lithium N2 - An alternative method for lithium isotope amount ratio analysis based on a combination of high-resolution atomic absorption spectrometry and spectral data analysis by machine learning (ML) is proposed herein. It is based on the well-known isotope shift of approximately 15 pm for the electronic transition 22P←22S at around the wavelength of 670.8 nm, which can be measured by the state-of-the-art high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. For isotope amount ratio analysis, a scalable tree boosting ML algorithm (XGBoost) was employed and calibrated using a set of samples with 6Li isotope amount fractions, ranging from 0.06 to 0.99 mol mol–1, previously determined by a multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS). The calibration ML model was validated with two certified reference materials (LSVEC and IRMM-016). The procedure was applied toward the isotope amount ratio determination of a set of stock chemicals (Li2CO3, LiNO3, LiCl, and LiOH) and a BAM candidate reference material NMC111 (LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2), a Li-battery cathode material. The results of these determinations were compared with those obtained by MC-ICP-MS and found to be metrologically comparable and compatible. The residual bias was −1.8‰, and the precision obtained ranged from 1.9 to 6.2‰. This precision was sufficient to resolve naturally occurring variations, as demonstrated for samples ranging from approximately −3 to +15‰. To assess its suitability to technical applications, the NMC111 cathode candidate reference material was analyzed using high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry with and without matrix purification. The results obtained were metrologically compatible with each other. KW - Lithium KW - Isotope KW - Machine learning KW - Algorithms KW - Reference material KW - AAS KW - Atomic Absorption Spectrometry PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00206 SN - 1520-6882 VL - 93 IS - 29 SP - 10022 EP - 10030 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC, USA AN - OPUS4-53028 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morcillo, Dalia A1 - Winckelmann, Alexander A1 - Frick, Daniel A. A1 - Jacobsen, Lars A1 - Seger, Tino A1 - Florek, Stefan A1 - Richter, Silke A1 - Vogl, Jochen A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - Lithium isotope ratio analysis of geological samples using atomic absorption spectrometry with improved spectral resolution N2 - This study introduces an improved spectrometric method with enhanced precision to determine isotope ratios in geological samples without chromatographic separation. Firstly, the improvement is achieved by increasing the spectral resolution of the spectrometer applied in well-known high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-AAS). The resulting resolving power and linear dispersion of the upgraded setup, which is denoted in the following as HR+CS-AAS, is well adapted to the line widths of the Li isotope components we investigated. Secondly, our proposed method combines optical absorption spectrometry with machine learning data analysis using an extreme gradient boosting algorithm (XGBoost). This method was applied to analyze certified geological reference materials with δLSVEC(7Li/6Li) (hereafter δ7Li) values ranging from −0.5 ‰ to 4.5 ‰. With a pixel related optical resolving power of λ/∆λ ≈ 780 000, we obtain precisions in δ7Li measurements from 1.0 ‰ to 2.5 ‰. The method is validated by comparing the results with multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), confirming its metrological compatibility. This work presents a fast, robust, and reliable method for δ7Li measurement in geological samples. KW - Isotope KW - High-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectroscopy KW - Lithium KW - Machine learning KW - Echelle spectrometer PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-611807 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2024.107013 VL - 220 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - Elsevier BV AN - OPUS4-61180 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - You, Zengchao A1 - Hoffmann, V. A1 - Morcillo, Dalia A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Leonhardt, Robert A1 - Winckelmann, Alexander A1 - Richter, Silke A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - Investigation of aluminum current collector degradation in lithium-ion batteries using glow discharge optical emission spectrometry N2 - In this work, we employed glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) depth profiling as a fast and semi-quantitative method to investigate the aluminum (Al) current collector degradation in commercial lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) pouch cells with no Al2O3 pretreatment. After battery aging, a heterogeneous deposit was found on the surface of the cathode. Gray hotspot areas within an extensive pale white region were formed. Consistent with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of micro-cross sections milled via targeted focused ion beam (FIB), an Al-containing layer of approximately 3 µm can be observed using GD-OES. We attribute one main cause of this layer is the degradation of the Al current collector. The nonuniform growth of this layer was investigated by performing GD-OES depth profiling at different in-plane positions. We found that the gray area has a higher mass concentration of Al, probably in metallic form, whereas the white area was probably covered more homogeneously with Al2O3, resulting from the inhomogeneous distribution of the pitting positions on the current collector. Compared to FIB-EDX, GD-OES enables a faster and more convenient depth profile analysis, which allows the more productive characterization of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), and consequently benefits the development of preferable battery materials. KW - GD-OES KW - depth profiles KW - Li-ion battery KW - battery aging mechanism KW - current collector corrosion PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2023.106681 SN - 0584-8547 VL - 205 SP - 106681 PB - Elsevier B.V. CY - Amsterdam, Netherlands AN - OPUS4-57383 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian A1 - Richter, Silke A1 - Hoppe, Marion A1 - Meckelburg, Angela A1 - Prinz, Carsten A1 - Roik, Janina A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - Powering precision: development of a certified reference material for elemental composition analysis of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (Li-NMC) cathode material for lithium-ion batteries N2 - This work presents the development and certification of the world’s first certified reference material (CRM), BAM-S014, for a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNi0.33Mn0.33Co0.33O2 or Li-NMC 111) cathode material—an integral component in high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), portable electronics, and stationary energy storage systems. By providing certified mass fractions for 11 elements, this CRM addresses a critical need for accurate and traceable elemental analysis, supporting quality control and regulatory compliance in the global battery industry. Ensuring reliable and harmonized measurements supports the efficient use of resources, including the reuse of recycled materials, and ultimately helps maintain product performance and safety. The values were assigned through an interlaboratory comparison involving 16 participating laboratories and various analytical techniques such as inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, and combustion analysis. In addition to chemical characterization, the certification process includes homogeneity and stability testing of the candidate material. Details are provided on the analytical methods used for chemical characterization and the calculation of the uncertainties of the certified mass fractions. In addition to detailing the development of the CRMs, this work provides an overview of ongoing standardization activities in Li-component analysis, thereby guiding the calibration of analytical methods and contributing to the establishment of globally accepted standards for evaluating energy storage materials and advancing sustainable mobility and clean energy solutions. KW - Certified reference material KW - Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide KW - LNMC KW - Lithium-ion battery KW - Cathode material PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-643763 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-025-05766-7 SN - 1618-2642 VL - 417 IS - 12 SP - 2643 EP - 2653 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-64376 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morcillo, Dalia A1 - Winckelmann, Alexander A1 - Oelze, Marcus A1 - Leonhardt, Robert A1 - Schmidt, Anita A1 - Richter, Silke A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian A1 - Vogl, Jochen A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - Exploring Age-Induced Lithium Isotope Fractionation in Lithium-Ion Batteries using Microwave-Induced Cold Nitrogen Plasma Mass Spectrometry N2 - This study explores Microwave-Inductively Coupled Atmospheric-pressure Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MICAP-MS) as a cost-effective alternative to Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) for analyzing lithium isotopic composition in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). We investigate the performance of MICAP-MS in measuring Li isotope ratios in new and aged commercial lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries. Our results show that MICAP-MS, operating under cold plasma conditions at 800 W with an 8 mm torch position, achieves results metrologically compatible with MC-ICP-MS, with a precision ranging from 0.6‰ to 3.4‰ for δ7Li values. MICAP-MS benefits from a dielectric resonator for uniform plasma, better ion velocity control, and higher energy efficiency. Optimal settings were identified with dwell times of 10 ms for 6Li and 1 ms for 7Li. The study of LIBs revealed that 6Li migrates towards the anode over multiple charge–discharge cycles, causing 7Li to accumulate in the cathode, a fractionation effect that becomes more pronounced with prolonged cycling. MICAP-MS provides a cost-effective, precise alternative to MC-ICP-MS, with lower operational costs and enhanced portability, advancing the study of isotopic fractionation and aging in lithium-ion batteries. KW - MICAP-MS KW - Lithium KW - Battery aging KW - Lithium isotopes KW - Nitrogen plasma KW - Isotope fractionation KW - lithium cobalt oxide KW - LCO PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-643777 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ja00324a SN - 0267-9477 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-64377 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -