Mass spectrometry

Chemistry

Natural abundance

Chromatography

Uranium

Physics

Detection limit

Organic chemistry

Isotopic ratio

Radiochemistry

Polyatomic ion

Environmental chemistry

Enriched uranium

Atomic physics

Uranium-238

Quadrupole

Analytical Chemistry (journal)

Fission

Isotope

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Isotopes of uranium

Neutron

Nuclear physics

Analytical Chemistry

Determination of uranium isotope ratios is of great expedience for assessing its origin in environmental samples. In particular, the 236U/238U isotope ratio provides a powerful tool to discriminate between the different sources of uranium (uranium ore, geochemical background, and uranium from anthropogenic activities). However, in the environment, this ratio is typically below 10–8. This low abundance of 236U and the presence in large excess of major isotopes (mainly 238U and 235U) complicates the accurate detection of 236U signal by mass spectrometry and thus highly sensitive analytical instruments providing high abundance sensitivity are required. This work pushes the limits of triple quadrupole-based ICP–MS technology for accurate detection of 236U/238U isotope ratios down to 10–10, which is so far mainly achievable by AMS. Coupled with an efficient desolvating module, N2O was used as the reaction gas in the collision reaction cell of the ICP–MS/MS. This configuration allows a significant decrease of the uranium polyatomic interferences (235UH+ ions) and an accurate determination of low 236U/238U isotope ratios. This new methodology was successfully validated through measurements of certified reference material from 10–7 to 10–9 and then through comparisons with AMS measurement results for ratios down to 10–10. This is the first time that 236U/238U isotope ratios as low as 10–10 were determined by ICP–MS/MS. The possibility of measuring low 236U/238U isotope ratios can offer a large variety of geochemical applications in particular for the determination of uranium sources in the environment.

Pushing Limits of ICP–MS/MS for the Determination of Ultralow <sup>236</sup>U/<sup>238</sup>U Isotope Ratios

Pushing Limits of ICP–MS/MS for the Determination of Ultralow 236U/238U Isotope Ratios

Pushing Limits of ICP–MS/MS for the Determination of Ultralow ²³⁶U/²³⁸U Isotope Ratios