Progress in Re-Os Isotope Analytical Techniques

The article summarizes some progresses in Re-Os isotope sample digestion, separation, purification and mass spectrometer measurement, and reviews five different digestion techniques, including acid digestion in reducing media, alkali fusion, Nickel sulfide fire assay, Carius tube dissolution and high-pressure ashier digestion. For Os separation, solvent extraction (Br_2 or CCl_4) and distillation are two mainly effective techniques, and microdistillation is used to further purify Os. Anion exchange and solvent extraction are used to separate and purify Re. The article also introduces the methods for Re-Os isotope measurement by negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry (NTIMS) and multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), and NTIMS is the successful and conventional methods for Re-Os isotope determination, and MC-ICP-MS now offers the potential of achieving high precision and facilities in Re-Os isotope analysis.