Wir öffnen die Tür für neue analytische Möglichkeiten

Isotopes of antimony (Sb) are non-traditional stable isotopes whose use as a geochemical tool has been very much limited so far. In this work, we open the door for the determination of isotopic composition of Sb on microscale. The measurements were done with laser ablation coupled to a multi-collector ICP mass spectrometer. Careful comparison of the laser ablation results with the more commonly used measurements from aqueous solutions documented the accuracy and precision of the method. We have developed an internal laboratory solid standard for such measurements. In addition, we have found that some of the samples are isotopically homogeneous, but some are surprisingly heterogeneous. Variations of the antimony isotopic composition on the microscale must be kept in mind when bulk methods are used. In the following studies, we will use our method to address concrete questions regarding the behavior of antimony in various natural systems.

Kaufmann, A.B., Lazarov, M., Kiefer, S., Majzlan, J., Weyer, S., 2021: In-situ determination of Sb isotopes by fs-LA-MC-ICP-MS. Journal of Analytical Chemistry https://doi.org/10.1039/D1JA00089FExterner Link