Determination of Thirty Trace Elements in Carbonate Rocks by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry and Interference Correction

Abstract

High calcium content in carbonates will result in obvious inhibition or enhancement of element analysis signals when samples are determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). In this study, carbonates were openly dissolved by HNO3, HCl, HClO4 and HF, and 30 trace elements were determined by ICP-MS. The mass spectrum interferences due to sample matrix, isobaric effect and polyatomic ions are evaluated. The interference of Ca on Ni for high-Ca samples is also evaluated. By using formula and interference coefficients, the analytical results are obviously improved. Analytical values are in accordance with the standard values, and relative standard deviation (RSD) is less than 10%, except for some elements, which have RSDs of 10%-15%, confirming the requirement of analytical criteria.

Keywords

• carbonate
• trace elements
• open acid digestion
• inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry
• interference correction