Determination of 48 elements in 7 plant CRMs by ICP-MS/MS with a focus on technology-critical elements

Abstract

Seven plant certified reference materials (NIST SRM1515 Apple Leaves, NIST SRM1547 Peach Leaves, BCR-129 Hay Powder, BCR-670 Aquatic Plant, GBW07603 Bush Twigs and Leaves, GBW10015 Spinach Leaves and NCS ZC73036a Green Tea) were analysed for their mass fractions of 48 elements by inductively coupled plasma tandem-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS): Li, Be, Na, Mg, Al, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Y, Nb, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Te, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Ta, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th, U. Special focus was put on the determination of technology-critical elements (TCEs), to which, e.g. Li, Be, Ga, Ge, Nb, Sb, Ta, Tl, Bi, and the rare-earth elements (REEs, lanthanides and Y) are counted. Closed-vessel microwave digestion was performed using HNO3, H2O2 and HBF4. The average bias for certified values is − 1% ± 13% (SD). Limits of detection (xL) in the measured solutions lie between 13 fg g−1 (Tb) and 52 ng g−1 (Ca). This article seeks to provide an optimised measurement procedure for the determination of element mass fractions of emerging importance in environmental samples, which are challenging to analyse with more traditional techniques such as single-quad ICP-MS. In addition, it aims to improve the characterisation of commonly used plant reference materials by providing mass fraction data for rarely studied elements. Graphical abstract

Characterisation of gas cell reactions for 70+ elements using N2O for ICP tandem mass spectrometry measurements

“…Conversely, mass-shiing the interference allows the target analyte to be analysed at the same m/z as it enters the cellknown as an "onmass" determination. Other gases used for atom transfer reactions include nitrous oxide (N 2 O), [5][6][7][8] carbon dioxide, 9 sulphur hexauoride, 10 and methyl uoride. 11,12 Asymmetric charge transfer reactions remove interferences by transferring the charge of an interference to the reaction gas (e.g.…”

“…Conversely, mass-shifting the interference allows the target analyte to be analysed at the same m / z as it enters the cell – known as an “on-mass” determination. Other gases used for atom transfer reactions include nitrous oxide (N 2 O), 5–8 carbon dioxide, 9 sulphur hexafluoride, 10 and methyl fluoride. 11,12…”

Multi-element analysis of unfiltered samples in river water monitoring—digestion and single-run analyses of 67 elements

“…Since one goal of this study was to only assess the long-term environmentally available fraction, to remain comparable to the ISO 15587 (2002) [ 23 ] and the long-term monitoring data series in Germany, hydrofluoric acid (HF) was not considered a possible digestion reagent component [ 29 ]. HF is required when the silicate fraction is addressed; however, the formation of poorly soluble or insoluble fluorides (e.g., with Al or Ca) is a common issue [ 29 , 30 ]. Furthermore, HF is in our case not recommended for routine purposes when analysing hundreds of whole water samples due to the increased safety requirements, long digestion protocols and the necessity of adding boric acid after digestion to avoid insoluble fluorides which would lead to the exclusion of boron from the analyte spectrum.…”

Atomic spectrometry update – a review of advances in environmental analysis

“…The mass fractions of 48 analytes, including the REEs and the technology-critical elements Be, Bi, Ga, Ge, Li, Nb, Sb, Ta and Tl, were determined 108 in seven plant CRMs by ICP-MS/MS to provide benchmark values for future studies . Krata 109 reported the first information on Hg speciation in a soil CRM, EnvCRM 03 from the National Metrology Institute of Turkey.…”