3.11 Inorganic Analysis

The main areas of the work of working group „AG 3.11 Inorganic Analysis“ is elemental analysis in the fields Clinical Chemistry, Traceability System for Elemental Analysis, and International Comparability as well as in the Avogadro Project. In many fields, isotope analysis adds additional and important information. The working range spans from pure substances (1 g/g) to trace analysis (10-12 g/g). In isotope analysis, amount-of-substance fractions down to 10-7 mol/mol and molar masses with combined uncertainties as low as 10-10 are measured. The crucial goals of all work are the SI-traceability of the results as well as the permanent reduction of the measurement uncertainties. Often experimental and mathematical approaches off the beaten tracks are employed to develop the necessary novel methods. All this happens in close cooperation with other renowned NMIs, research institutes and universities. When it comes to instruments, especially mass spectrometers (HR-ICP-MS, MC-ICP-MS, MC-TIMS, GD-MS, IRMS) are our tools of the trade. But also complementary methods like ion chromatography, potentiometric titration as well as optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) are successfully established.