Determination of Precise and Accurate V-51/V-50 Isotope Ratios by Multi-Collector ICP-MS, Part 2: Isotopic Composition of Six Reference Materials plus the Allende Chondrite and Verification Tests

Journal article

We present the first measurements of vanadium (V) stable isotopes for six reference materials - USGS PCC-1, BHVO-2, BCR-2, BIR-1a, GSP-2 and AGV-2 - plus the widely available carbonaceous chondrite Allende. We present standard addition and matrix spiking tests to assess the robustness and reproducibility of our data. Standard addition utilised an enriched 50V solution designated VISSOX (Vanadium Isotope Standard Solution OXford). We further assessed the veracity of the method by spiking collected sample matrices with the same amount of a V standard solution, whose isotopic composition was defined as 0‰. Standard addition and matrix spiking tests recorded no appreciable artificial isotope fractionation. We estimate that the best currently attainable long-term reproducibility of stable 51V/50V isotope measurements in complex matrices is 0.15‰, which is in the same order as the reproducibility achievable with standard solutions. Finally, a large range of ∼ 1.2‰ in stable V isotopic composition was documented, with ∼ 0.5‰ of that variation in high temperature igneous materials alone. The range and resolving power of V stable isotopes, with respect to igneous material, compared favourably with the magnitude of fractionation reported for other non-traditional stable isotope systems, which bodes well for the utility of this new system. © 2011 The Authors. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research © 2011 International Association of Geoanalysts.

Authors: Prytulak, J; Nielsen, S; Halliday, A

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: GEOSTANDARDS AND GEOANALYTICAL RESEARCH
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 307-318
• Publication date: 2011-09-01
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-908X.2011.00105.x
• EISSN: 1751-908X
• ISSN: 1639-4488
• Language: English
• Keywords: non-traditional stable isotopes; vanadium; reference materials; MC-ICP-MS