Direct ICP-MS determination of trace and ultratrace elements in geological materials after decomposition in a microwave oven. I. Quantitation of Y, Th, U and the lanthanides

Abstract

A microwave digestion technique using a mixture of HF + HNO 3 + HCl + H 3BO 3 was found to be effective for the rapid dissolution of various silicate rock and sediment reference samples. From the solutions thus prepared, it was possible to determine quantitatively trace and ultratrace amounts of yttrium, thorium, uranium and the lanthanides by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) without any separation of matrix elements or preconcentration. In the ICP-MS determinations, oxide and non-spectral interferences on individual masses of the rare earth element ions were corrected by the method of algebraic approach of elimination and dilution, respectively, and measurement drift was controlled by ruthenium and rhenium internal standards. The method yielded excellent results comparable with “recommended”, “consensus” and “working” values of the literature for the specified elements on various well-known international reference materials such as andesite (AGV-1), basalts (BCR-1, BHVO-1, BIR-1 and BE-N), granites (G-2 and NIM-G), syenite (SY-2), gabbro (MRG-1), diabase (W-2 and DNC-1), marine mud (MAG-1), river sediment (NBS 1645), lake sediments (LKSD-1-LKSD-4) and stream sediment (GSD-1, GSD-5, GSD-6 and STSD-1-STSD-4)). New values for Er, Gd, Ho, Pr and Tm in LKSD-1-LKSD-4 and STSD-1-STSD-4, and Er, Ho, Lu, Nd, Pr, Tb, Tm and Yb in NBS 1645 are first reported in this work.