Rapid determination of 16 trace elements in U 3 O 8 by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Abstract As a critical quality indicator for uranium products, impurity element concentrations have garnered significant research attention worldwide. To enable rapid impurity analysis, a matrix separation-free method using inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) was established for determining 16 trace impurity elements in uranium compounds (U 3 O 8 ). The detection limits of the method were systematically evaluated. Validation using a uranium trioxide (U 3 O 8 ) reference material demonstrated solid-phase detection limits of 0.037–5.7 μg/g, spike recoveries of 93.9 %–111.5 %, and relative standard deviations (sr) of 0.7 %–3.1 %. This approach satisfies the requirements for accurate trace impurity determination in uranium oxides.