Determination of oxygen isotopes in water by direct oxidation and oxygen mass spectrometry

Abstract

The oxygen isotopic content of natural and heavy water has been determined by mass spectrometric analysis of oxygen gas, produced by direct chemical oxidation using either Na₂S₂O₈ in strongly basic media or ClF₃. The results from the two methods are in good agreement. No evidence for mass independent isotope fractionation effects in deuterium-free water or in heavy water samples from a variety of sources was found. The ¹⁷O and ¹⁸O content of three IAEA water standards (V-SMOW, GISP and SLAP) are reported.