The Langmuir Group Facilities

Langmuir’s group occupies 3000 square feet of newly refurbished space where sample preparation and digestion are performed for TE and isotope analyses. The space also houses a Thermo Electron X-Series ICP-MS and New Wave 213nm Laser.

ICP-MS Lab

Room 114B

Trace element analysis is carried out by quadrupole ICP-MS (Thermo Electron, X-Series ICP-MS with CCT) and data reduction is carried out in house using multiple independently calibrated internal standards. Precision for most elements is 2-3%. Solid sample analysis is achieved using a laser ablation system (New Wave Instruments, 213 nm laser) in conjunction with the ICP-MS, yielding precision of better than 3% for most elements.

Chemistry Lab

Room 115

To prepare rocks as aqueous solutions, samples are digested using the closed Teflon vessel PicoTrace capable of digesting batches of 16 to 32 samples simultaneously (to temperatures of 230 °C and 20 bars). The acids used for digestion are double distilled using the PicoTrace acid distillation system, and acid dilutions are made with 18.2 MΩ deionized water delivered by an ultra pure water polishing system.

Rock Preparation Lab

Room 120

This space includes the necessary sample preparation equipment and microscopes for the generation of rock powders and hand-picked glasses.

Clean Rooms

Rooms 117A & 117B
The clean labs are metal-free labs with better than class 10 laminar-flow work spaces for chemical separations and low blank trace element and isotope analysis.

Access

Please note that access to all labs is restricted to authorized personel only. Contact the EPS Administrative Office at 617-495-2351 for questions regarding access or the Langmuir Group Administrative Assistant at 617-496-7504.