Evaluation of measurement uncertainty in the elemental analysis of sintered silicon carbide using laser ablation in liquid—inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with external calibration and isotope dilution

• Published in: Accreditation and quality assurance 2019-10, Vol.24 (5), p.329-339
• Main Authors: Fujiwara, Masahide, Hirosawa, Koki, Nonose, Naoko, Nishida, Sho, Furuta, Naoki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ablation; Acids; Analytical Chemistry; Biochemistry; Calibration; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Commercial Law; Dilution; Ecotoxicology; Food Science; General Paper; Inductively coupled plasma; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Isotope ratios; Laser ablation; Lasers; Marketing; Mass spectrometry; Particle size; Pretreatment; Reference materials; Scientific imaging; Silicon carbide; Trace elements; Trace impurities; Uncertainty
• ISSN: 0949-1775; 1432-0517
• DOI: 10.1007/s00769-019-01389-5

The goal of this study was to evaluate the uncertainty of elemental analytical methods that use laser ablation in liquid (LAL) as a pretreatment. After LAL sampling of silicon carbide (SiC), trace impurities were quantified using inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) with external calibration (EC). The expanded uncertainty ( k  = 2) of the concentrations was less than 10 %. To obtain more precise values, the Ti, the element homogeneously distributed on the sample surface of SiC, was quantified using ICP-SFMS with isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). The expanded uncertainty ( k  = 2) was reduced to 3.4 %. The smaller uncertainty associated with IDMS reflected the fact that measuring the isotope ratio of the same element with IDMS and high-speed isotope measurements at 10-ms intervals reduced the variability of signal intensities, the primary source of uncertainty, more effectively than EC. Moreover, the combination with ID improved the sample amount-dependent unrepeatability in pretreatment. Graphical abstract