Comparison of Two Different Sample Pretreatment Methods in Determination of Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta in Rocks by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry

Two different sample pretreatment methods—Na2O2fusion method and microwave digestion method were compared in determination of Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta in rocks by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Various National Standard Reference rock samples were analyzed using the two sample pretreatment methods. The results indicate that Na2O2fusion method provides higher accuracy and precision (＜6%RSD,n=10) than microwave digestion method and is suitable for the determination of Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta in rock samples.