Fast 14C Sample Preparation of Organic Material

A fast 14C sample preparation technique for organic material in conventional 14C counting is described. The basic difference from conventional preparation is oxidation of the organic substances in a closed system under an oxygen pressure of ca 10 bars. After the explosion-like combustion, the reacti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiocarbon 1989, Vol.31 (3), p.264-268
Main Authors: Dörr, Helmut, Kromer, Bernd, Münnich, Karl Otto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
A. Sample Preparation
I. Sample Preparation and Measurement Techniques
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Summary:A fast 14C sample preparation technique for organic material in conventional 14C counting is described. The basic difference from conventional preparation is oxidation of the organic substances in a closed system under an oxygen pressure of ca 10 bars. After the explosion-like combustion, the reaction products SO2 and NO2 are oxidized immediately to SO4 2-and NO3 − and precipitated on the wall of the reaction vessel. The residual gas mixture is passed first through a cold trap at −78° to remove water vapor and then through an activated charcoal column at 0° for purification. CO2 is removed from the remaining O2−CO2 gas mixture in a LN2 trap at a pressure of ≃ 100mbar. With this method sample preparation time is reduced from ca 10 hr to ca 1 hr. The efficiency and reproducibility of the procedure is shown with 14C and 13C measurements of a sugar-carbon standard. The results obtained by the new technique agree well with conventionally prepared wood and bone samples.
ISSN:0033-8222
1945-5755
DOI:10.1017/S0033822200011784