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Nitrogen Mass Fraction and Isotope Determinations in Geological Reference Materials Using Sealed‐Tube Combustion Coupled with Continuous‐Flow Isotope‐Ratio Mass Spectrometry
Author(s) -
Feng Lianjun,
Li Hongwei,
Liu Wei
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geostandards and geoanalytical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.037
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1751-908X
pISSN - 1639-4488
DOI - 10.1111/ggr.12234
Subject(s) - isotope ratio mass spectrometry , nitrogen , combustion , mass spectrometry , mass fraction , isotopes of nitrogen , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , analyser , fraction (chemistry) , tube furnace , isotope , silicate , environmental chemistry , chromatography , nuclear physics , physics , organic chemistry
A method using a high‐temperature sealed‐tube combustion technique coupled with a continuous‐flow isotope‐ratio mass spectrometer ( CF ‐ IRMS ) was developed in this study to accurately determine the nitrogen mass fractions and δ 15 N of silicate rocks with a low nitrogen mass fraction of < 200 μg g −1 . Analysis of reference material ( HB a3) demonstrated that the nitrogen mass fraction and δ 15 N results using the developed method were in agreement with data obtained using classical sealed‐tube combustion coupled to a dual‐inlet MS . Given the lack of commercially accessible reference materials usable for interlaboratory comparisons, two igneous reference materials (BCR‐2 and BHVO‐2) obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) were analysed for nitrogen mass fractions and δ 15 N using the new method. Due to their homogenous characteristics, they can potentially be used as test materials for inter‐laboratory comparisons. The sealed‐tube combustion technique yielded higher N mass fractions than the elemental analyser, suggesting that previous nitrogen mass fractions measured using EA ‐ IRMS were underestimated. Thus, the nitrogen mass fractions and δ 15 N of BCR ‐2 and BHVO ‐2 may not have been correctly determined using EA ‐ IRMS .