New chloromethane preparation line for the stable chlorine isotope composition analysis.

Abstract

Stable isotopes of chlorine have great application potential due to the widespread occurrence of the chlorine anion in water, minerals, living organisms and the environment. In most studies, the chloride ion from the samples is converted to chloromethane, which is then analysed isotopically using a mass spectrometer. In the present study, a new design for a chloromethane preparation line is proposed. In particular, the new chloromethane preparation line uses a new system for injecting iodomethane into the preparation system, as well as ampoules with Teflon valves and the u-shaped freezers. These improvements reduced the preparation time to about 1 h, and also achieved a decent measurement uncertainty of 0.05 permil.