Platinum stable isotope ratio measurements by double-spike multiple collector ICPMS

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We present a new technique for the precise determination of platinum (Pt) stable isotope ratios by multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) using two different Pt double-spikes ( Pt-Pt and Pt-Pt). Results are expressed relative to the IRMM-010 Pt isotope standard as the parts per million difference in Pt/PtPt ratios (μPt). Repeated measurements of the IRMM-010 Pt standard in two different laboratories, consuming ca. 40-85 ng of Pt, show that a long-term external reproducibility for μPt of ≤40 ppm (2 sd; equivalent to ≤10 ppm u, where u is the unified atomic mass unit) can be obtained on Pt stable isotope ratios with either double-spike. Elemental doping tests reveal that double-spike corrected Pt stable isotope ratios are insensitive to the presence of relatively high (up to 10%) levels of matrix elements, although the Pt-Pt double-spike is affected by an isobaric interference on Pt from Os. The Pt-Pt double-spike does not use Pt in the double-spike inversion and is unaffected by Os contamination, and is our recommended double-spike for use with natural samples. As part of this study, we re-determined the natural Pt isotopic composition of IRMM-010 by MC-ICPMS using external element (Pb) doping to correct for instrumental mass bias and have identified relative Pt isotope differences of up to 10% from the reference values for this standard. The new isotopic composition of the IRMM-010 standard (Pt = 0.01289%, Pt = 0.7938%, Pt = 32.81%, Pt = 33.79%, Pt = 25.29% and Pt = 7.308%) results in a redefined Pt atomic weight of 195.08395 ± 0.00068. Using our technique we have measured small, reproducible and statistically significant offsets in Pt stable isotope ratios between different Pt element standards and the IRMM-010 standard, which potentially indicates that natural Pt stable isotope fractionations exist that are larger than the reproducibility of our technique.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry
Volume28
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)853-865
Number of pages13
ISSN0267-9477
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jun 2013

ID: 46086533