Technology-critical elements (TCEs) are a non-uniformly defined group of elements with limited availability relative to global demand. Their unique chemical properties make them indispensable for high-tech applications across various industries, including smartphones, computers, and renewable energy technologies like solar panels and wind turbines.

From a dissipation standpoint, although increased usage over recent decades has already led to detectable alterations in environmental levels of some TCEs, much remains unknown about the exact quantities of anthropogenic releases and their potential impacts on ecosystems and human health. As a result, TCEs can be considered emerging contaminants that require careful management throughout their lifecycle—from initial mining to final disposal and recycling.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Tandem Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) is the preferred method for analyzing a wide range of TCEs in complex samples, such as e-waste, as well as for low-level quantification in biological samples, like plants, and ultra-trace detection in freshwater systems. Across various projects that address different stages of the TCE life cycle, analytical methods are being developed to push the boundaries of ICP-MS/MS by using alternative reaction/collision gases to mitigate interferences and enhance detection limits in challenging matrices. This poster provides an overview of recent advancements in the field, including a thorough discussion on method validation and the characterization of (certified) reference materials for TCEs [1, 2, 3].

References

[1] S.T. Lancaster et al. J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2023, 38, 1135-1145.

[2] S. Trimmel et al. Anal Bioanal Chem, 2023, 415, 1159-1172.

[3] S. Trimmel et al. STOTEN, 2024, 934, 173364.