Determination method of multi elements in ferromanganese samples by LA-ICP-MS.

A dilution method using MnO(2) for the manganese nodule standard, JMn1, has been newly adopted to obtain accurate calibration lines. Moreover, an internal standard correction method was applied to correct changes in the sample introduction efficiency for the prime purpose of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis. Using the dilution method and the correction method, good calibration lines were successfully obtained for 13 elements. The methods were also applied to the analysis of ferromanganese nodules. The results were in accordance with those obtained by ICP-MS, which requires chemical treatments of samples. The results are encouraging, and imply a high potential of LA-ICP-MS for the analysis of trace elements in ferromanganese nodules.