A modified laser ablation-isotope ratio mass spectrometry method for in
situ analysis of sulfur isotope composition of sulfides
Abstract
Rationale: A novel laser ablation-isotope ratio mass
spectrometry (LA-IRMS) method for in situ sulfur isotope analysis
of sulfides has been developed. Instead of the in situ reaction
applied by the traditional laser microprobe, the analyte gas preparation
in this method is separated temporally and spatially from the laser
ablation, resulting in improved precision and accuracy.
Methods: Our LA-IRMS system combines an ultraviolet (UV) LA
system, an elemental analyzer (EA), a custom-built cryogenic
concentration system, a continuous-flow interface and an IRMS. The
sulfide aerosol particles generated from LA were transferred by a helium
carrier gas from the ablation cell into the reaction tube and were
converted into SO 2. Then SO 2 was
enriched in two cold traps and was finally introduced into the ion
source of an IRMS through a continuous-flow interface. Results:
We measured three synthetic and four natural sulfide reference materials
to test the performance of this method. Precisions of ±0.25-±0.64‰ (1SD,
n=5) for δ 34S values can be obtained at a spot
size of 64~80 μm. Measured values and their known true
values for these sulfur isotope reference materials showed good linear
relationship (R 2=0.998~0.9995) with
slope of approaching unity (1.0509~1.1313).
Conclusions: Data from the measurement of reference materials
showed that the precision and accuracy of our method was satisfactory.
This method is a powerful tool for in situ sulfur isotope
measurement of sulfides, and can be further applied to in situ
carbon and oxygen isotope analyses.