Determination of uranium and thorium in high purity titanium by ICP-MS after ion exchange separation

The determination of trace amounts of U and Th in Ti by ICP-MS has been investigated. Sample was decomposed with hydrochloric acid in a Teflon pressure vessel, and subsequently added hydrogen peroxide solution. In order to reject matrix effect in the measurement, U was separated from Ti by anion exchange using 9 M hydrochloric acid and Th was separated from Ti by cation exchange using 1.5 M hydrochloric acid. Quantitative recoveries were obtained for U and Th. The present method effectively determined U and Th of sub ppb level in Ti.