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Absolute Isotope Ratios
(2018)
Measurement results and scientific models leading to important decisions in forensics, food fraud or climatology are based on isotope ratio data. Molar masses of multi-isotopic elements are as well based on isotope ratio data. Thus, in the case of Si, isotope ratios directly impact the redefinition of the SI base units kilogram and mole. Therefore, new strategies are required leading to new primary isotope reference materials, whose isotope ratios are traceable to the SI. This in turn will ensure the comparability of isotope ratio data and will render the traceability exception requested by the CCQM superfluous. Such new procedures will be developed for the key elements S, Si, Ca, Sr and Nd at relative uncertainty levels of ≤ 0.01 %.
The article gives a condensed version of the keynote lecture held at the International Mass Spectrometry Conference 2012 in Kyoto. Starting with some examples for isotope research the key requirements for metrologically valid procedures enabling traceable and comparable isotope data are discussed. Of course multi-collector mass spectrometers are required which offer sufficiently high isotope ratio precision for the intended research work. Following this, corrections for mass fractionation/discrimination, validation of the analytical procedure including chemical sample preparation and complete uncertainty budgets are the most important issues for obtaining a metrologically valid procedure for isotope ratio determination. Only the application of such metrologically valid procedures enables the generation of traceable and comparable isotope data. To realize this suitable isotope and/or δ-reference materials are required, which currently are not sufficiently available for most isotope systems. Boron is given as an example, for which the situation regarding isotope and δ-reference materials is excellent. Boron may therefore serve as prototype for other isotope systems.
Isotope reference materials are needed to calibrate and validate analytical procedures used for the determination of isotope amount ratios, procedurally defined isotope ratios or so-called δ values. In contrast to the huge analytical progress in isotope ratio analytics, the production of isotope reference materials has not kept pace with the increasing needs of isotope analysts. Three representative isotope systems are used to explain the technical and non-technical difficulties and drawbacks, on one hand, and to demonstrate what can be achieved at its best, on the other hand. A clear statement is given that new isotope reference materials are needed to obtain traceable and thus comparable data, which is essential for all kinds of isotope research. The range of available isotope reference materials and δ reference materials should be increased and matrix reference materials certified for isotope compositions or δ values, which do not exist yet, should be provided.
Two synthetic isotope mixtures for the calibration of sulfur isotope amount ratio measurements were gravimetrically prepared from high purity Ag2S materials enriched in 32S, 33S, and 34S. The mixtures were made so as to closely resemble the (natural) isotopic composition of the materials to be calibrated. This allowed a totally independent evaluation, on the same samples, of the relative combined uncertainty of: (a) the procedure to perform direct measurements of the amount of substance ratios of gas isotopes in the redetermination of the Avogadro constant and (b) the gravimetric preparation procedure. The result of both procedures, mass spectrometry and gravimetry, agree to a relative uncertainty of 3 × 10-4 for sulfur amount ratio measurements of the major abundant isotopes. Thus it seems that a direct measurement of isotopic gas mixtures (e.g. of natural isotopic composition) is now possible for sulfurand probably also for other gaseous isotopeswithout necessarily having to rely on calibration by means of values provided by measurements of gravimetrically prepared isotope mixtures. However, synthetic mixtures may be needed for validation and verification purposes, in particular for quality assurance.