Absolute isotopic composition and atomic weight of commercial zinc using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is introduced as a method for determining the absolute isotopic composition of zinc. The high ionization efficiency and time-independent characteristics of the mass spectrometry permit the absolute isotopic composition of high ionization potential elements. The mass discrimination of the instrument is calibrated by synthetic isotope mixtures prepared from highly enriched isotopes of zinc. The resulting isotope ratios yield atomic percents of 64Zn, 49.188 +/- 0.030; 66Zn, 27.792 +/- 0.041; 67Zn, 4.041 +/- 0.009; 68Zn, 18.378 +/- 0.050; and 70Zn, 0.600 +/- 0.003. This isotopic composition is different from those of conventional mass spectrometric measurements. Their differences depend on the mass differences about 0.8-1.2%/amu with enhancement of heavier isotopes. The atomic weight calculated from our isotopic composition is 65.3756 +/- 0.0040. The obtained atomic weight is fully consistent with that of a precise coulometric measurement in contrast to the previous mass spectrometric measurements. An isotopic variation of commercial zinc reagents has been investigated. A mass-dependent fractionation of 0.12%/amu is observed in a high-purity metal zinc, NIST-SRM 682, among five reagents. This mass dependence is probably inherited through their purification process.