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Updated: Apr 1, 2026

Automated, High-resolution Mobile Collection System for the Nitrogen Isotopic Analysis of NOx
Published on: December 20, 2016
Comparison of methods to determine triple oxygen isotope composition of N2O
Jens Dyckmans1, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak2, Lars Szwec1
1Centre for Stable Isotope Research and Analysis, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Rationale:
The oxygen isotope anomaly, Δ(17) O, of N2 O and nitrate is useful to elucidate nitrogen oxide dynamics. A comparison of different methods for Δ(17) O measurement was performed.
Methods:
For Δ(17) O measurements, N2 O was converted into O2 and N2 using microwave-induced plasma in a quartz or corundum tube reactor, respectively, or conversion was carried out in a gold wire oven. In each case, isotope ratios were measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry.
Results:
All the tested methods showed acceptable precision (coefficient of variation <2.4 % at 160 nmol N2 O) with high sample size but the sample size dependence was lowest when using microwave-induced plasma in a corundum tube reactor.
Conclusions:
The use of microwave-induced plasma in a corundum tube yields best results for Δ(17) O measurement on N2 O gas samples.
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