Plutonium isotope ratio measurements by total evaporation-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TE-TIMS): an evaluation of uncertainties using traceable standards from the New Brunswick Laboratory†

Abstract

The accuracy and precision of isotope amount ratio measurements using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) instrumentation are described, and the measurement of Pu materials is emphasized. The mass fractionation observed for Am, Ga, Pu, and U for isotope amount ratio measurements using the total evaporation (TE) technique is compared with theoretical estimates to demonstrate the advantage of the TE methodology and to investigate systematic biases in the major isotope amount ratios of U and Pu certified reference material (CRM) standards from the U.S. provider of CRMs. The quality of the Pu isotopic data generated by TIMS instruments in an analytical laboratory is demonstrated by the application of the double ratio technique to estimate the ²⁴¹Pu half-life. Analytical data on traceable Pu CRMs from the New Brunswick Laboratory (NBL), generated as part of routine measurements supporting various programs, are used for this half-life estimation. Although the ²⁴¹Pu abundances in CRMs of 136, 137, 138, and 126-A are approximately 200–2000× smaller than those in the ²⁴¹Pu material used in the previous Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) evaluation of the ²⁴¹Pu half-life, the half-life value estimated in this work shows excellent agreement with the currently accepted value from the IRMM. This agreement also demonstrates the pedigree of the Pu isotopic standards from the NBL and the quality of the isotope amount ratio measurements using TIMS instrumentation. For both the major and minor Pu isotope amount ratios, this report describes the relative importance of the factors affecting the uncertainty of TIMS measurements, which are considered the gold standard in isotope ratio measurements (LA-UR-24-29199).