Geology

Contact Us Department of Geology
Museum Building
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland

View the contact page for more contact and location information

earth@tcd.ie

Clean Laboratory

Student in the clean laboratory, Trinity College Dublin.

Lab Name

Clean Laboratory

Staff

Cora McKenna

Lab technician

Cora McKenna

Location

Unit 7, Trinity Technology And Enterprise Centre (TTEC), Pearce Street.

Activities supported
  • ICP-MS ultra-trace element preparation:
    • Low-temperature leaching using HNO3
    • High-temperature digestion using HF-HNO3,
    • High temperature and pressure “Parr bomb” digestion using HF-HNO3
    • Sample dilution and spiking using precision balances
  • Ion exchange chromatography

Equipment
  • Custom-built CSC Hybrid Fume Hood – Laminar Flow Cabinet with HEPA-filtered clean air, laminar flow, down flow and containment features (x2).
  • Telstar AV-30/70 Bench Top HEPA filtered cabinet
  • Vented chemical storage for HF, HNO3, HCl and HBr
  • Analab EasyDigest hotplate with heating blocks for even heating digestion vessels.
  • Analab MiniVesselCleaner for pre-leaching of consumable plastic ware.
  • Analab 3-arm CleanAcids acid distillation system for triple distilling HF.
  • Bespoke quartz glass acid distillation system for triple distilling HNO3 and HCl.
  • Millipore Milli-Q Integral 3 water purification system
  • Satorius and Ohaus analytical balances
  • 29ml and 7ml PTFE beakers for high-temperature sample digestion.
  • Parr Bombs acid digestion vessels with PTFE inserts for high-pressure and high-temperature sample digestion.

Note

Solid samples must already be milled and homogenised using agate before booking time for ICP-MS preparation. Tungsten-carbide and steel inserts should not be used in the milling process. The rock preparation facilities in Unit 36B are available for all pre-processing of solid samples.

Lab Publications

Babechuk, M.G., Widdowson, M., Murphy, M., Kamber, B.S., 2015. A combined Y/Ho, high field strength element (HFSE) and Nd isotope perspective on basalt weathering, Deccan Traps, India. Chemical Geology, 396: 25-41.

Suhr, N., Widdowson, M., McDermott, F., Kamber, B.S., 2018. Th/U and U series systematics of saprolite: importance for the oceanic 234U excess. Geochemical Perspectives Letters, 6: 17-22.