Determination of Iron, Chromium, Niobium, and Tin in Zirconium by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

A direct analytical method for determining iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), niobium (Nb), and tin (Sn) in zirconium metal samples was established using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Matrix-matched calibration standards were prepared with zirconium alloy-certified reference materials to eliminate potential matrix interference effects during measurements. The detection limits for Cr, Fe, Nb, and Sn were determined as 0.06 mg/g, 0.11 mg/g, 0.84 mg/g, and 0.88 mg/g, respectively. The developed method was validated by analyzing two real zirconium samples and comparing the results with those obtained through conventional wet digestion-ICP-MS. Statistical evaluation using Student's t-test demonstrated no significant differences between the two methods (p > 0.05), confirming the reliability of the LA-ICP-MS-based approach.