Determination of 10 major and 34 trace elements in 34 GSJ geochemical reference samples using femtosecond laser ablation ICP-MS

Abstract

We measured 10 major (SiO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, total Fe₂O₃, MnO, MgO, CaO, Na₂O, K₂O, and P₂O₅) and 34 trace (Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Sn, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta, Pb, Th, and U) elements in 34 Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) geochemical reference samples (JB-1, JB-1a, JB-1b, JB-2, JB-2a, JB-3, JB-3a, JA-1, JA-1a, JA-2, JA-3, JR-1, JR-2, JR-3, JGb-1, JGb-2, JG-1, JG-1a, JG-2, JG-3, JH-1, JSl-1, JSl-2, JSd-1, JSd-2, JSd-3, JSd-4, JSd-5, JLk-1, JMS-1, JMS-2, JMS-3, JSO-1, and JCFA-1) using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry coupled with the femtosecond laser ablation sample introduction technique (fsLA-ICP-MS). Before the elemental analysis, glass beads were prepared by mixing each sample with a high-purity alkali flux with a 1:10 mixing ratio. The abundances of the major and trace elements were externally calibrated by using glass beads containing the major and trace elements prepared from six geochemical reference materials (AGV-1, AGV-2, BCR-1, BCR-2, BHVO-2, and DTS-1) distributed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Abundances of most major elements in the 34 GSJ geochemical reference samples were consistent with previously reported values. We rigorously tested the reliability of the trace-element abundance data against the data obtained from JB-1, JB-1a, JA-1, and JA-2, because the trace-element abundances of these reference samples were recently re-compiled. All trace-element compositions of these reference samples were consistent with the reference values, suggesting high reliability of the fsLA-ICP-MS analytical technique. Typical analysis repeatabilities for the GSJ geochemical reference samples were better than 3% for SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Na₂O, and K₂O; <5% for TiO₂, total Fe₂O₃, MnO, MgO, CaO, P₂O₅, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Lu, Hf, Ta, Th, and U; and <9% for Sc, Cu, Zn, Sn, Yb, and Pb. These data clearly demonstrate that high analytical repeatability can be achieved by the fsLA-ICP-MS technique with glass beads made from 0.5 g or larger samples.