Application of an Ion-Selective Electrode Method to the Determination of Chloride in 41 International Geochemical Reference Materials

Determinations of trace amounts (with one exception) of chloride are reported for 41 international geochemical reference standards, 12 of which have no previously reported literature values. All determinations were made by the chloride-specific ion-selective electrode method of Aruscavage and Campbell with certain refinements. Chlorine is separated from most other elements in geologic materials by acid-dissolution in a gas diffusion cell, and is subsequently determined as the chloride ion in basic solution. A statistical F-test was applied to 19 of the standards for which three bottles of each were analyzed in triplicate with no failures. All these standards, plus the other 22 for which six analyses were performed on a single bottle, exhibited a relative standard deviation of 1-6% for concentrations of chloride >50 ppm. For most samples chloride values agree well both with available, reported experimental values and with recommended or consensus values.