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A dry ashing assay method for the trace determination of Th and U in polymers using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

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Abstract

This paper discusses the methods developed for determining the radiopurity of high density polyethylene and polyetherketone ketone materials to be considered for use in ultralow background physics experiments. This work focuses on the processes used to render the polymeric samples acid soluble for subsequent ultratrace analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. High density polyethylene was determined to contain 2.19 ± 0.42 pg Th/g and 2.81 ± 0.52 pg U/g. The method provided very low absolute detection limits of 17.2 and 38.1 fg for Th and U, respectively. However, the polyetherketone ketone sample etched or devitrified the quartz, causing determined values to be a factor of 2–4 higher for Th and 5–9 higher for U from dissolution assay results.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported as part of the UltraSensitive Nuclear Measurements Initiative (USNMI) by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a multi-program national laboratory operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The authors would like to thank Scott DeFelice and Tony Decarmine of Oxford Performance Materials for PEKK samples. IJA would like to thank USNMI for the generous funding allowing him to present this data and more at the MARC 2015 Conference in Hawaii. This manuscript has been authored by Battelle Memorial Institute under Contract No DE-AC05—76RL01830 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government retains, and the publisher by accepting this article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.

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  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, MSIN J4-60, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Isaac J. Arnquist, May-Lin P. Thomas, Jay W. Grate, Mary Bliss & Eric W. Hoppe

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Arnquist, I.J., Thomas, ML.P., Grate, J.W. et al. A dry ashing assay method for the trace determination of Th and U in polymers using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 307, 1883–1890 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4343-7

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