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A comparison of INAA and ICP-MS/ICP-AES methods for the analysis of meteorite samples

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Abstract

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and ICP mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) (hereafter, ICPs) were applied to meteorite samples for the determination of elemental content. The analytical applicability and suitability of the three methods have been compared. Those comparisons led to the refinement of our analytical procedures for INAA and ICPs, yielding more reliable data. Our INAA data proved to be reliable enough for classifying meteorites, while the ICPs, especially ICP-MS, can characterize elemental abundance features in detail, as demonstrated by REE abundance patterns for the Allende meteorite. In this manner, INAA and ICPs can be used in a complementary fashion in cosmochemical studies.

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Acknowledgements

The Antarctic meteorites used in this study were loaned by the National Institute of Polar Research, Japan, to which our thanks go. This work was financially supported in part by a grant-in-aid defrayed by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, MEXT (#25246038 to ME).

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Author notes

  1. Mitsuru Ebihara

    Present address: Department of Earth Sciences, Waseda University, 1-6-1 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8050, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan

    Mitsuru Ebihara & Naoki Shirai

  2. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, NSW, Australia

    John W. Bennett & Attila J. Stopic

Authors
  1. Mitsuru Ebihara
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  2. Naoki Shirai
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  3. John W. Bennett
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  4. Attila J. Stopic
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Correspondence to Mitsuru Ebihara.

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Ebihara, M., Shirai, N., Bennett, J.W. et al. A comparison of INAA and ICP-MS/ICP-AES methods for the analysis of meteorite samples. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 318, 1681–1687 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-6309-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-6309-z

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