ICP-MS and Laser Ablation-ICP-MS

Bldg 61 Contact: Charlotte.Allen@anu.edu.au Tel: +61 2 6125 2754

Bldg 47 Contact: Andrew.Christy@anu.edu.au Tel: +61 2 612 50561

Laser Ablation ICP-MS sampling unit

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometers (ICP-MS)

Two highly sensitive ICP-MS instruments (Fisons VG and HP7500 Agilent) are in routine operation at RSES for precise concentration measurements of some 40 trace and Rare Earth Elements. Sample dissolution is crucial for meaningful and accurate trace element analyses and hence a sophisticated, multisample microwave digestion system is dedicated to the ICP-MS laboratory. Specialised techniques have been developed for the analysis of platinum group elements and Au. By pre-concentration of these elements onto a chelating resin, detection limits better than 0.1 parts per billion in the sample can be achieved.

The Hewlitt Packard Agilent 7500 ICP-MS.

Laser Ablation ICP-MS

EXCIMER laser systems, operating deep in the ultra-violet spectrum at a wavelength of 193nm and capable of ablating silicate, oxide and sulphide phases, are used in tandem with the ICP-MS instruments for precision microsampling and analysis of more than 50 elements. Detection limits scale with the ablation site dimensions, and can be tailored to range from sub ppb levels on large ablation sites (100-200 µm) through to low ppm levels on small sites (10-15 µm). The EXCIMER UV laser ablation system presents a breakthrough in the analysis of those elements which display "volatile" behaviour when more conventional IR and UV laser systems are employed. This extends the application of laser ICP-MS to the quantitative analysis of elements previously difficult to measure, in particular the many sulphide associated "ore metals".