An inter-comparison of isotopic composition of neon via chemical assays and thermal analyses (IUPAC Technical Report)

In 2003–2014, a study on the effect of isotopic composition on the triple point temperature of neon was conducted under the framework of a Project involving laboratories from 11 countries. Natural neon from commercial sources of different isotopic composition, high-purity 20Ne and 22Ne isotopes, and certified artificial isotopic mixtures were used. The thermometric studies comprised: a) a total of 131 analytical assays from 3 laboratories on the isotopic composition of samples taken from 31 different bottles of neon with chemical gas purity 99.99 mol % to 99.9995+ mol %, including chemical impurities for some samples, with up to 12 assays per sample; b) multi-laboratory thermal analyses, with accuracies ranging up to better than 50 μK (k≈2), on 39 samples, almost all permanently sealed in metal cells, for the determination of the liquidus-point temperature of the triple point as a function of isotopic composition. The thermometric studies also constitute an international inter-comparison of thermal and analytical assays on the isotopic composition—and occasionally of the chemical impurities—of neon. These tests are critically needed for top-accuracy thermometry. The main results of the inter-comparison of the various chemical assays, and of the comparisons between the assays and the results of thermal analyses, are reported. They show discrepancies in x(20,21,22Ne), especially for x(22Ne), in ‘natural’ neon, for the same gas bottle, equivalent to an uncertainty of up to 165 μK (k = 1) in the triple point temperature, as measured by all testing laboratories, and of about 100 μK (k = 1) as measured from a single testing laboratory. This is an unsatisfactory situation for thermometry, since it is difficult to obtain a reliable and accurate isotopic assay for neon, thus limiting the accuracy of the realisation of the neon triple point temperature as a ITS-90 reference point to well above 50 μK. However, it also discloses a strong limitation in the relevant analytical chemistry.