Standard addition method for laser ablation ICPMS using a spinning platform

A method has been developed for the fast and easy determination of Pb, Sr, Ba, Ni, Cu, and Zn, which are of geological and environmental interest, in solid samples by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) using a spinning sample platform. The platform, containing a sample and a standard, is spun during the ablation, allowing the quasi-simultaneous ablation of both materials. The aerosols resulting from the ablation of sample and standard were mixed in the ablation cell allowing quantification of analytes by standard additions. The proportion of standard versus sample of the mixing can be increased by performing the ablation further from the axis of rotation. The ablated masses have been determined using a new strategy based on isotope dilution analysis. This spinning laser ablation method has been applied to the Allende meteorite and four powdered standard reference materials (SRMs) fused in lithium borate glasses: two sediments as well as a soil and a rock material. SRM 612 (Trace Elements in Glass) was also analyzed despite having a matrix slightly different from the glass standard obtained by lithium borate fusion. The deviation from the certified values was found to be less than 15% for most of the mass fractions for all the elements and samples studied, with an average precision of 10%. These results demonstrate the validity of the proposed method for the direct and fast analysis of solid samples of different matrixes by standard additions, using a single standard sample.