Neutron activation determination of noble metals in samples of terrestrial and cosmic origin using microfire assay concentration

Abstract

The effects of various factors (composition of mixture, relationship between the mass of mixture and sample, value of the Ni : S ratio, fusion time, and temperature) on the conditions of the fire assay concentration of the noble metals with nickel sulfide were investigated, and a method proposed for their quantitative separation from different geological matrices with a neutron activation determination for up to 10-1-10-3 ppb. The proposed method is used to analyse geological samples, i.e., ores, stones, iron meteorites, chromites, soil and lunar rocks.

Simultaneous Determination of Platinum and Palladium by Second Derivative Spectrophotometry Using 3-(2'-Thiazolylazo)-2, 6-Diaminopyridine as Chromophore Ligand

“…The simultaneous determination of these metals can be also carried out by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography 2 , inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry 3 " 6 and by neutron activation 7 . The detection limit for the determination of these metals by this last method is very low, but it requires a long time for the analysis.…”

Reliability of and measurement uncertainty for the determination of Au, Pd, Pt and Rh by ICP-MS in environmentally relevant samples

“…Crucial factors for a successful fIre-assay are the quantity of Ni used, the weight ratio ofNi to S, the fusion temperature, the temperature and the duration of the selective dissolution of the NiS (Paukert and Rubeska 1993;Kolesov and Sapozhnikov 1995;Zischka 1998). An optimised procedure for carrying out the NiS-dokimasie (Table 1) leads to high recoveries of the noble metals Pd, Pt and Rh (Table 2) and low concentrations of interfering elements (Zischka 1998).…”

Applicability and Limits of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis: State of the Art in the Year 2000

“…INAA has gained importance in characterizing samples of terrestrial and cosmic origin, including lunar rocks (74), and in studying organic and formation processes, especially when rare earth elements are concerned (75).…”