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Newly Designed 0.8-ML Teflon® Vial for Microvolume Radiocarbon Dating

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Michael Buzinny  and
Vadim Skripkin
Michael Buzinny
Affiliation:
Ukrainian Research Center for Radiation Medicine, Laboratory of Radioecology Melinkova 53, 254050 Kiev, Ukraine
Vadim Skripkin
Affiliation:
Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine, Department of Environmental Radiogeochemistry Palladina 34, Kiev 42, Ukraine
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Abstract

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We have tested two versions of an 0.8-ml volume Teflon® vial, designed specifically for radiocarbon dating in the microvolume range, using a modern Quantulus 1220™ liquid scintillation (LS) spectrometer. We determined the counting performance of each vial type in conjunction with different designs of copper holder, viz., with and without the incorporation of a “Teflon® light coupler”. We also compared the losses of sample benzene during a typical 28-day counting period. Results show that neither vial design nor the type of vial holder used in the intercomparison had a significant influence on counting performance. We recorded an absolute 14C detection efficiency of 82% against a background count rate of 0.1 cpm, i.e., a “figure of merit (FM) value” = 67,240. This compares favorably with the operational parameters anticipated for microvolume 14C dating by modern LS spectrometry. However, variations in the design of the sealing method used between the vial types was reflected in an apparent approximate tenfold difference in the amount of benzene lost during routine counting. In the better case, the evaporation loss was equivalent to 0.032 mg of benzene per day.

Type
V. Advances in Measurement Techniques
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , 1995 , pp. 743 - 747
Copyright
Copyright © the Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona 

References

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