Evaluation of the digestion capability of ammonium bifluoride for the determination of major and trace elements in Ti-rich minerals by ICP-MS

Abstract

Complete sample digestion is a prerequisite to achieve accurate and precise results of elemental concentrations and isotopic compositions in Ti-bearing minerals of interest, such as refractory rutile. In this study,...

Novel and rapid NH4HF2 assisted KH2PO4 fusion of pegmatite ores bearing refractory minerals for multi-element determination by atomic spectrometry

“…The titanium mineral present in the ore under study might be ilmenite or rutile. Liu et al 17 have shown that extended digestion of the mineral with ABF for more than 4 hours at 230 °C recovers Ti completely in rutile. However, for processing a large number of samples, rapid digestion and dissolution were required.…”

“…Zhang et al 15 demonstrated that ABF can be effectively used for digestion in open and closed vessel processes. ABF has already been applied to various refractory mineral bearing ores such as Nb–Ta rich (coltan) ores, 16 rutile, ilmenite, and perovskite Ti-rich minerals; 17 post-detonation nuclear forensic analysis; 18 trinitrite samples; 19 forensic nuclear debris; 20 zircon; 21 and scheelite. 22 However, ABF can only decompose silicate-bound tin 23 in geological rock samples, whereas mineral cassiterite remains unattacked by any acid or the combination of HF–HNO 3 /HCl–HClO 4 .…”

Atomic spectrometry update – a review of advances in environmental analysis

“…Rapid and simple digestion procedures that achieve total dissolution remain a priority. Liu et al 191 evaluated the ability of ammonium bifluoride (NH 4 HF 2 ) to digest Ti-rich minerals such as rutile, ilmenite, titanite and perovskite for the determination of major and trace elements by ICP-MS. Complete digestion of 50 mg samples was achieved in 4 h using 300 mg of NH 4 HF 2 at 230 °C.…”

Rapid and Complete Digestion of Refractory Geological Samples Using Ultrafine Powder for Accurate Analyses of Trace Elements

“…Recently, Hu and Zhang utilized the higher boiling points of NH 4 F and NH 4 HF 2 (260 and 239.5 °C, respectively) instead of traditional acids to increase the digestion temperatures, successfully determining trace elements in felsic igneous rocks containing the refractory mineral zircon. Later, a PTFE beaker withstanding 300 °C shortened evaporation times in this method and achieved complete digestion of acid-resistant Ti-rich minerals . However, this method faces the risk of incomplete dissolution of chromite-rich rocks …”

“…Later, a PTFE beaker withstanding 300 °C shortened evaporation times in this method 9 and achieved complete digestion of acid-resistant Ti-rich minerals. 10 However, this method faces the risk of incomplete dissolution of chromite-rich rocks. 11 Bomb digestion is currently used in most geological laboratories to ensure complete digestion of acid-resistant minerals.…”