Determination of lanthanoids and yttrium in JGb2 and JR3 by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry after cation-exchange pretreatment

Abstract

The lanthanoids (Ln) and yttrium (Y) in rock standard samples issued from the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) have been determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Sample solutions of two igneous rocks, JGb2 and JR3, with no certified values for Ln and Y were prepared using acid digestion technique, and the Ln and Y were separated from other constituents by a cation-exchange column pretreatment. Corrections for polyatomic interference ions were made for the precise and accurate determination of Ln and Y. The analytical results for Ln and Y in JGb2 obtained by the proposed method were in good agreement with literature values, except for La (22%), obtained by other ICP-MS coupled with cation-exchange pretreatment. The discrepancy of La abundance was mainly due to the different total blank level.