Abstract:
Continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry has been widely employed for the analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopes in carbonates, operating on the principle of introducing CO
2 generated from the phosphoric acid-carbonate reaction into an isotope ratio mass spectrometer for measurement. Water present in the phosphoric acid undergoes oxygen isotope exchange with the produced CO
2 at a temperature-dependent rate. Due to matrix differences between soil samples and pure carbonate reference materials, a systematic evaluation is required to assess their respective responses to phosphoric acid concentration and the feasibility of standard material calibration. This study utilized a multifunctional online gas preparation system (Iso FLOW) coupled with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) to systematically compare the effects of different phosphoric acid concentrations and reaction temperatures on the
δ13C and
δ18O values of carbonate reference materials and soil samples. The results demonstrated that: (1) for
δ13C measurements, after reactions with 85%, 99%, and 100% phosphoric acid at corresponding temperatures of 70℃, 40℃, and 25℃ followed by standard material calibration, the
δ13C values showed high consistency with a maximum deviation of 0.10‰, indicating negligible effects of phosphoric acid concentration and reaction temperature; (2) for
δ18O measurements,
δ18O values exhibited a progressively positive bias with increasing phosphoric acid concentration, with inconsistent bias patterns between carbonate standards and soil samples resulting in a maximum corrected deviation of 1.33‰, whereas the temperature effect could be effectively corrected by two-point calibration, maintaining
δ18O deviation around 0.15‰. These findings indicate that phosphoric acid concentration significantly affects
δ18O determination in soil carbonates, while the temperature effect can be effectively corrected. Therefore, the use of 100% phosphoric acid with a reaction temperature of 70℃is recommended to ensure both data reliability and analytical efficiency.