The metal-free Clean Chemistry Laboratory (Isotope Chemistry) is center of chemical operations in the CICG Facility. The entire lab space is maintained at the highest pressure of HEPA filtered air and registers particle counts at better than Class 1000 levels. Strict contamination control is ensured through the use of coveralls and a dedicated gowning room. To ensure that blanks are kept low so as not to obscure information inherent in the astromaterials, there is a dedicated hood for distilling the reagent acids, and all the Teflon vials used during sample processing are subjected to repeated cycles of acid cleaning.

Samples that do not require elevated pressures are digested using mineral acids on hot plates in the cleaned Teflon. Elements of interest are isolated from the digested sample solution using ion-exchange chromatography columns. Cross-contamination from different procedures/samples is minimized by having dedicated laminar low benches for different purification protocols. There is also a dedicated lab space for low blank Class 100 work. A range of spikes and isotopic standards are used to calibrate the TIMS and MC-ICP-MS instruments used for geochemical, cosmochemical, and geochronological analyses.

Center for Isotope Cosmochemistry and Geochronology (CICG)

Center for Isotope Cosmochemistry and Geochronology (CICG)

Isotope Chemistry Laboratory