Nickel-based superalloys benefit from high heat resistance, high melting points, retention of mechanical and chemical properties at high temperatures, and high corrosion resistance, among others, and are therefore widely used in challenging environments, such as aircraft and power generation turbines, rocket engines, as well as chemical processing and nuclear power plants. The required properties of state-of-the-art nickel-based superalloys are achieved by introducing multiple alloying additives. And in addition to the elements added to improve performance, the presence of impurity elements negatively impacts the properties of nickel-based superalloys and must be monitored. Therefore, it is critical to accurately determine and control these impurities and additive concentrations in nickel-based superalloys.
This work demonstrates the ability of the NexION® 2000 ICP-MS to accurately and directly measure 16 trace elements in a nickel-based superalloy matrix. This is thanks to the combination of its true-quadrupole Universal Cell, which is able to control the reaction to ensure that no new interferences are formed, and the ability to use pure ammonia reaction gas and helium collision gas to eliminate the matrix polyatomic interferences on As, Cd, Cu, Ga, Ge, Se and Te, ensuring accurate results.