Filtern
Dokumenttyp
- Zeitschriftenartikel (4) (entfernen)
Sprache
- Englisch (4)
Schlagworte
- Isotope ratio (4) (entfernen)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
Comparative performance study of ICP mass spectrometers by means of U "isotopic measurements"
(2000)
The performance of four commercially available ICPMS instruments of three different types was compared by means of uranium "isotopic measurements". Examined were two quadrupole sector (different generation, different manufacturer), one single detector double focusing magnetic sector and one multiple collector double focusing magnetic sector instruments. The same samples of the IRMM-072 series were used under routine conditions to measure the 233U/235U and the 233U/238U ratios which, in these samples, vary over almost three orders of magnitude from ~ 1 to ~ 2 · 10-3. Within expanded (k = 2) uncertainties, good agreement was observed between the certified values and the data internally corrected for mass-discrimination effects. The magnitude of the evaluated uncertainties was different for each type of instrument. With the multiple collector instrument, expanded uncertainties varied from - 0.04% to- 0.24% for the 233U/235U ratio, and from - 0.08% to - 0.27% for the 233U/238U ratio. They were ~ 1 to 5 times larger with the single detector magnetic sector instrument, and ~ 10 to 25 times larger with both quadrupole sector instruments. With the multiple collector instrument, repeatability of the measurements seemed to be limited by the difficulty of correcting properly for instrumental background, whereas with the single detector magnetic sector instrument the counting statistics was the only limitation (on smallest ratios). Apparent mass-discrimination was clearly found to be larger but more reproducible (and hence easier to correct for) in the case of magnetic sector instruments than for both quadrupole sector instruments. If space charge effects were the main source of mass-discrimination for all instruments, these results are in contradiction with the hypothesis of the size of mass-discrimination decreasing with the acceleration voltage. With the single detector magnetic sector instrument in particular (when operated by changing the ion energy only), our results pointed at more than only one major source of mass-discrimination, with variable size depending on the ratios measured.
Despite numerous advantages offered by hyphenation of chromatography and electrokinetic separation methods with multicollector (MC) ICP-MS for isotope analysis, the main limitation of such systems is the decrease in precision and increase in uncertainty due to generation of short transient signals. To minimize this limitation, most authors compare several isotope ratio calculation methods and establish a multi-step data processing routine based on the precision and accuracy of the methods. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no universal data processing tool available that incorporates all important steps of the treatment of the transient signals. Thus, we introduce a data processing application (App) IsoCor that facilitates automatic calculation of isotope ratios from transient signals and eases selection of the most suitable method. The IsoCor App performs baseline subtraction, peak detection, mass bias correction, isotope ratio calculation and delta calculation. The feasibility and reliability of the App was proven by reproducing the results from isotope analysis of three elements (neodymium, mercury and sulfur) measured on-line via hyphenated systems. The IsoCor App provides trackability of the results to ensure quality control of the analysis.
During R/V Meteor cruise 141/1, pore fluids of near surface sediments were investigated to find indications for hydrothermal activity in the Terceira Rift (TR), a hyperslow spreading center in the Central North Atlantic Ocean. To date, submarine hydrothermal fluid venting in the TR has only been reported for the D. João de Castro seamount, which presently seems to be inactive. Pore fluids sampled close to a volcanic cone at 2,800‐m water depth show an anomalous composition with Mg, SO4, and total alkalinity concentrations significantly higher than seawater and a nearby reference core. The most straightforward way of interpreting these deviations is the dissolution of the hydrothermally formed mineral caminite (MgSO4 0.25 Mg (OH)2 0.2H2O). This interpretation is corroborated by a thorough investigation of fluid isotope systems (δ26Mg, δ30Si, δ34S, δ44/42Ca, and 87Sr/86Sr). Caminite is known from mineral assemblages with anhydrite and forms in hydrothermal recharge zones only under specific conditions such as high fluid temperatures and in altered oceanic crust, which are conditions generally met at the TR. We hypothesize that caminite was formed during hydrothermal activity and is now dissolving during the waning state of the hydrothermal system, so that caminite mineralization is shifted out of its stability zone. Ongoing fluid circulation through the basement is transporting the geochemical signal via slow advection toward the seafloor.
ICP-MS has played a key role in inorganic chemical metrology for 25 years, from the 1993 CIPM feasibility study which led to establishment of the CCQM. Since that time, the Inorganic Analysis Working Group of the CCQM has organised 56 international comparisons involving measurements by ICP-MS and, in a recent comparison, 16 different national institutes submitted their results using the technique. Metrological applications of ICP-MS currently address an enormous range of measurements using a wide variety of instrumentation, calibration strategies and methodologies. This review provides an overview of the ICP-MS field with an emphasis on developments which are of particular relevance to chemical metrology.
Examples from CCQM comparisons and the services available from the participants are used to illustrate how the capability and scope of ICP-MS methods have expanded far beyond the expectations of 1993. This is due in part to the research and development Programmes of the national institutes which participate in the CCQM. They have played a key role in advancing new instrumentation and applications for elemental analysis, isotope dilution mass spectrometry, determination of isotopic ratio or composition, and speciation of organometallic compounds. These developments are continuing today, as demonstrated by work in new fields such as heteroatom quantitation of proteins, characterisation and counting of nanoparticles using spICP-MS, and LA-ICP-MS analysis of solid materials.