Issue 4, 2023

Analysis of trace elements in uranium by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, design of experiments, and partial least squares regression

Abstract

Partial least squares regression models were optimized for the quantification of trace elements including lanthanides (e.g., Ce, Nd), transition metals (e.g., Fe, Cr, Ni, Zr), post-transition metals (e.g., Al, Pb), alkali/alkaline earth metals (e.g., Na, Mg), metalloids (e.g., Si, As) and nonmetals (e.g., P) in uranium (U) by analyzing inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectra. Chemical separations are commonly used to separate U from trace elements to enable highly reliable measurements by removing low lying spectral interferences from U in optical emission spectra. Here, an innovative multivariate regression approach was tested to circumvent the need for separations under relevant trace concentration ranges (20–5000 μg per g U). An I-optimal design was used to efficiently select training set samples, which were validated against several quality control samples with root mean square error of the prediction values ranging from 1% to 3% for 30 elements. The methodology was validated by the analysis of reference materials CRM 124-1 and CUP-2 and compared to partial least squares regression predictions from experimental values. The exemplar results indicate that the multivariate regression approach can account for covarying and overlapping spectral features better than standard software protocols. This unique approach provides a powerful tool for measuring trace elements in U without the time and waste associated with separations or matrix matched calibration standards and may be adapted to other systems.

Graphical abstract: Analysis of trace elements in uranium by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, design of experiments, and partial least squares regression

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Janv. 2023
Accepted
16 Marts 2023
First published
17 Marts 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2023,38, 800-809

Analysis of trace elements in uranium by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, design of experiments, and partial least squares regression

L. R. Sadergaski, B. T. Manard and H. B. Andrews, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2023, 38, 800 DOI: 10.1039/D3JA00013C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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