0000000000352276
AUTHOR
Sergei F. Boulyga
Comparative LA-ICP-IDMS determinations of trace elements in powdered samples using laser ablation systems with low and high ablation rates
The results of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-IDMS) with a special laser ablation system with high ablation rates (LINA-Spark-Atomiser), which was constructed for bulk analyses of solid samples, are compared with those obtained by one of the commonly used LA systems (UP213). Using different reference materials for validation it was demonstrated that the accuracy of LA-ICP-IDMS determinations of elements like Fe, Cu, Pb, and Zn by both systems is comparable in the concentration range of 10−2–10−6 g g−1, but the LINA-Spark-Atomiser also provides accurate results in the sub-μg g−1 range. IDMS enables accurate calibration of LA-ICP-MS determ…
Determination of extremely low (236)U/(238)U isotope ratios in environmental samples by sector-field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using high-efficiency sample introduction.
A method by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed which allows the measurement of (236)U at concentration ranges down to 3 x 10(-14)g g(-1) and extremely low (236)U/(238)U isotope ratios in soil samples of 10(-7). By using the high-efficiency solution introduction system APEX in connection with a sector-field ICP-MS a sensitivity of more than 5,000 counts fg(-1) uranium was achieved. The use of an aerosol desolvating unit reduced the formation rate of uranium hydride ions UH(+)/U(+) down to a level of 10(-6). An abundance sensitivity of 3 x 10(-7) was observed for (236)U/(238)U isotope ratio measurements at mass resolution 4000. The detection limit for (236)U a…
Determination of 129I/127I isotope ratios in liquid solutions and environmental soil samples by ICP-MS with hexapole collision cell
The determination of I-129 in environmental samples at ultratrace levels is very difficult by ICP-MS due to a high noise caused by Xe impurities in argon plasma gas (interference of Xe-129(+)), possible (IH2+)-I-127 interference and an insufficient abundance ratio sensitivity of the ICP mass spectrometer for I-129/I-127 isotope ratio measurement. A sensitive, powerful and fast analytical technique for iodine isotope ratio measurements in aqueous solutions and contaminated soil samples directly without sample preparation using ICP-MS with a hexapole collision cell (ICP-CC-QMS) was developed. Oxygen is used as reaction and carrier gas for iodine thermal desorption via the gas phase from solid…
Direct determination of halogens in powdered geological and environmental samples using isotope dilution laser ablation ICP-MS
Abstract Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-IDMS) with a special laser ablation system for bulk analyses (LINA-Spark™-Atomiser) was applied for direct determinations of chlorine, bromine, and iodine in rock and sediment samples. Special attention was focused on possible inter-halogen fractionations and analyte/spike isotope fractionations by using LA-ICP-MS and LA-ICP-IDMS, respectively. A variation of Br/Cl and I/Cl element intensity ratios by a factor of 1.3–3 was observed when changing the nebulizer gas flow rate in the range of 0.84–1.0 L min−1 and the laser power density in the range of 2–10 GW cm−2, respectively. When using an internal…
Application of isotope-dilution laser ablation ICP-MS for direct determination of Pu concentrations in soils at pg g(-1) levels.
The methods available for determination of environmental contamination by plutonium at ultra-trace levels require labor-consuming sample preparation including matrix removal and plutonium extraction in both nuclear spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. In this work, laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was applied for direct analysis of Pu in soil and sediment samples. Application of a LINA-Spark-Atomizer system (a modified laser ablation system providing high ablation rates) coupled with a sector-field ICP-MS resulted in detection limits as low as 3x10(-13) g g(-1) for Pu isotopes in soil samples containing uranium at a concentration of a few microg g(-1). …
Development of an isotope dilution laser ablation ICP-MS method for multi-element determination in crude and fuel oil samples
An inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometric (ICP-IDMS) method with direct introduction of the isotope-diluted sample into the plasma by laser ablation was developed for accurate, sensitive, fast, and simultaneous determination of trace metals in different oil samples. Metallo-organic solutions of isotope spikes (50V, 53Cr, 65Cu, 57Fe, 62Ni, 68Zn, 113Cd, 117Sn, and 206Pb) were prepared from corresponding aqueous stock solutions by using liquid–liquid extraction of complexed metal ions in isobutyl methyl ketone. The isotope-diluted sample was absorbed by a cellulose material, which was fixed in a special PTFE holder for ablation, using a laser system with high ablation r…
Depth profiling of Pu, 241Am and 137Cs in soils from southern Belarus measured by ICP-MS and alpha- and gamma-spectrometry
The depth distribution of plutonium, americium, and Cs-137 originating front the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was investigated in several soil profiles in the vicinity from Belarus. The vertical migration of transuranic elements in soils typical of the 30 km relocation area around Chernobyl NPP was studied using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), alpha spectrometry, and gamma spectrometry. Transuranic concentrations in upper soil layers ranged from 6 x 10(-12) g g(-1) to 6 x 10(-10) g g(-1) for plutonium and from 1.8 x 10(-13) g g(-1) to 1.6 x 10(-11) g g(-1) for americium. These concentrations correspond to specific activities of Pu239+240 of…
Improvement of the detection limit for determination of 129I in sediments by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer with collision cell
The previously developed sample introduction device for the hot extraction of iodine from environmental samples (soils or sediments) and on-line introduction of analyte via the gas phase in quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with hexapole collision cell (ICP-CC-QMS) was equipped with a cooling finger, which allowed intermediate iodine enrichment and improved the detection limits for I-129 down to 0.4 pg g(-1) without any additional sample preparation. A mixture of oxygen and helium as reaction gases in the hexapole collision cell was used for reducing the disturbing background intensity of Xe-129(+). Oxygen was also used as the carrier gas for iodine thermal desorption …