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 Ne-20 and Ne-22 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 mu K (k approximate to 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(Ne-20,Ne-21,Ne-22), especially for x(Ne-22), in 'natural' neon, for the same gas bottle, equivalent to an uncertainty of up to 165 mu K (k = 1) in the triple point temperature, as measured by all testing laboratories, and of about 100 mu K (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 mu K. However, it also discloses a strong limitation in the relevant analytical chemistry.