When I measure boron isotope by MC-ICPMS, the washing time between two samples are about 10 minutes at the beginning. After about 4-5-hour measurement, the washing time rises to about half an hour which makes me crazy. So does the same problem occur in your lab and how to deal with it?
This is a common complaint: boron sticks! I never dared to tackle the element for that reason. One could try to increase the strength of the rinsing solutions, perhaps...
I fear I don't know the answer to that. The best way to find out is to leach all of them in a bath of acid, and see which leachate has the highest concentration of boron.
Labs that measure boron get around this problem by adding Ammonia to the spray chamber as an add gas. This converts boric acid to the non-volatile borate ion, and keeps it stuck to the inside of the spray chamber. Alternatively you can add HF to your wash, but then you have to be very careful, and use things like platinum injectors. While Ammonia isn't the nicest thing to have hanging around, it works well.
Hi Michael James Henehan, thank you for your reply. I have read this papers. Its seems that The authors used a spray chamber which made by themselves. The chamber is designed having two input lines. However, our lab has no such a chamber. Its a pity. Maybe we also need to produce a such spray chamber. By the way, does your lab use ammonia when do boron measurement？
You can buy these PFA Barrel Spray chambers pre-made from ESI.
We use ammonia, yes, and it works well.
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