High-Precision Measurements of the Isotopic Composition of Common Lead Using MC-ICPMS: Comparison of Calibration Strategies Based on Full Gravimetric Isotope Mixture and Regression Models.

Abstract

The determination of isotope ratios of lead finds many important applications in earth and planetary sciences. In this study, we report the first independent and fully calibrated absolute isotope ratio measurements of a common lead since the seminal work by the NIST in the 1960s, which has provided the widely used standards SRM 981 and SRM 982. This work employs MC-ICPMS for the absolute isotope ratio measurements, which were calibrated using two independent methods: the full gravimetric isotope mixture method based on the use of all four near-pure lead isotopes (the first application of this primary method to lead) and the regression method with NIST SRM 997 thallium isotopic standard as the primary calibrator. Both calibration methods provide results consistent to a few parts in 104, which were used to characterize isotope ratios of lead in an NRC candidate reference material, high-purity common lead HIPB-1.