Issue 8, 2013

On the determination of trace elements in lead-bismuth eutectic by means of sector-field inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Abstract

Double-focusing sector-field inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) was used for the determination of trace amounts of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Nb, Mo, Ag, Cd, Te, Ce, Re, Tl, Th and U in lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE). To eliminate matrix effects, an offline analyte/matrix separation procedure was applied. This procedure is based on a combination of extraction chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography. The matrix elements Pb and Bi could be quantitatively separated from the vast majority of the target elements. In all fractions containing target elements, less than 0.5% of the LBE matrix remains. It was shown that the target elements could be quantitatively separated from “mock” samples, which contained ca. 20 000 mg L−1 of the matrix elements and ca. 0.2 mg L−1 of the target elements. For two lead-matrix certified reference materials, IMN PL33 & IMN PL66, experimentally determined concentrations for Ni, Cu, Ag, Cd, Tl and Bi were shown to be in good agreement with the corresponding certified values. A discrepancy was only found for Te in CRM IMN PL66, for which a recovery of only ca. 30% was obtained. Results obtained with the procedure for Cu, Ag and Cd in a series of five real LBE samples are in good agreement with those obtained by means of neutron activation analysis (NAA). Limits of quantitation (LoQ, 10s) ranged from sub-μg g−1 levels for the contamination-prone Fe to low ng g−1 levels for Th.

Graphical abstract: On the determination of trace elements in lead-bismuth eutectic by means of sector-field inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Article information

Article type
Technical Note
Submitted
02 Apr 2013
Accepted
05 Jun 2013
First published
06 Jun 2013

J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2013,28, 1345-1353

On the determination of trace elements in lead-bismuth eutectic by means of sector-field inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

T. Tindemans, A. Dobney, D. Wambeke and F. Vanhaecke, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2013, 28, 1345 DOI: 10.1039/C3JA50124H

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