Geology trace analysis

Applications The application of the isotope dilution technique is especially useful in carrying out precise and accurate micro and trace analyses. The most accurate results in mass spectrometry are obtained if the isotope dilution technique is applied (RSDs better than 1 % in trace analysis). Therefore, application of IDMS is especially recommended for calibration of other analytical data, and for certification of standard reference materials. The technique also finds application in the field of isotope geology, and is used in the nuclear industry for quantitative isotope analysis. 

For the largest field of application for LA-ICP-MS - geological research - many different geological and glass standard reference materials are available. Using standard reference materials in LA-ICP-MS, analytical results for trace analysis in homogeneous samples can be obtained with an accuracy better than 10%, and a precision of 2-5% is also possible.25 If no suitable CRM... 

For measurements of isotope ratios or isotope abundances, any of the mass spectrometers discussed in the previous chapters, such as SSMS, LIMS, GDMS56 and LA-ICP-MS,6 are of benefit for the direct isotope analysis of solid samples. SSMS and LIMS are rarely applied in isotope analysis due to their relatively low precision. Several applications of the isotope dilution technique as a calibration strategy in SSMS, mostly on geological samples, are known.57-59 GDMS has been mostly applied in multi-element trace analysis and depth profiling and plays only a minor role... 

Trace Analysis of Selected Elements in Geological Materials... 

Selected applications of inorganic mass spectrometry in trace analysis of geological samples are summarized in Table 9.34.3 8 9 52... 

Neutron activation is not a widely used method (Fig. 17.8). Some of its applications include characterisation of materials (e.g. high purity metals, semiconductors), the study of the distribution of chemical elements within fossils, ultra-trace analysis in archaeology and geology, and the study of volcanoes. 

Comparison of various analytical procedures used in trace analysis needs comparable conditions of determination and the same procedure for detection limit calculation. In some special cases the calculated limit of detection for pure solutions can differ by one order of magnitude in analysis of biological objects or food, by two orders in analysis of simple inorganic materials, or by as much as three orders for very complex objects such as mineral or geological items [13]. 

F. J. M. J. Maessen and R W. J. M. Boumans, Critical examination of the borate fusion technique for spectrochemical trace analysis of geological materials using the dc arc, Spectrochem. Acta, 22fl 739 (1968). 

Fusion is the traditional approach to sample preparation for industrial and geological analyses [67], especially for the analysis of mineral samples (e.g., lithium metaborate melts [68]). The major problems associated with fusion include restricted means for purifying the required (solid) reagents and the presence of high salt concentrations in the resulting analyte solution. Especially for trace analysis, overloading of the matrix in this way is inadvisable. 

Today, more areas than ever depend on the results of trace analysis Nuclear energy, production of semiconductors and ultrapure substances, metallurgy, materials research and production, geology. mineralogy, oceanography, medicine, an-... 

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