Evaluating zinc isotope fractionation under sulfate reducing conditions using a flow-through cell and in situ XAS analysis
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The combined effects of external weak magnetic fields and nuclear spins of the magnetic isotope {sup 67}Zn on vital functions of E. coli bacterial cells were proved experimentally. Metabolism of the major elements in E. coli depends on the intensity of the external static magnetic field and zinc isotopes contained in the nutrient medium. The combined effects of the external static magnetic field and zinc magnetic isotope {sup 67}Zn are observed in a change in the number of colony-forming units of E. coli bacteria in a range of 25–35 mT and in the content of Na, Ca and Mg in a range of 65–80 mT. The obtained data confirm magnetic sensitivity of intracellular enzymatic processes to the static magnetic field and magnetic moments of atomic nuclei.
The zinc (Zn) stable isotope system has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating natural and anthropogenic processes of interest to disciplines extending from the Earth and planetary sciences to biomedical research. In nature, Zn isotopes typically fractionate ( 66 Zn/ 64 Zn) within the range of –1 and +1 permil (‰), and however, analytical limitations restrict the application of the Zn isotope system. Specifically, there is a lack of well-characterised matrix-matched reference materials covering most Zn isotope applications that are essential for validating laboratory performance, particularly given the contamination prone nature of Zn. Furthermore, the increasing demand for analysis of size-limited materials and sample types displaying small, sub-permil level Zn isotope variations requires improvements in measurement procedures. To address these limitations, the δ 66 Zn values of two pure Zn solutions and eighteen reference materials including the previously uncharacterised RGM-2, BCR-279, DOLT-4, DOLT-5, NASS-7, SBC-1, SGR-1b, MESS-3 and HISS-1, and the understudied QLO-1, SDC-1, BCR-414, NASS-6 and COQ-1 materials are reported. Furthermore, a 70 Zn- 67 Zn double-spike design has been implemented that routinely achieves intermediate measurement precision better than ± 0.02‰. This represents at least a two-fold improvement when compared with other double-spike designs, providing a robust platform of δ 66 Zn values required for quality control procedures.
Volatile recycling and storage in the mantle transition zone (MTZ) is important for the refertilization of the upper mantle and is associated with the generation of high-µ (HIMU, where µ is 238 U/ 204 Pb) mantle. One way to probe the MTZ and the processes associated with mantle convection is to sample lavas that originate from the shallow mantle and were contaminated by upwelling from the MTZ, such as at the previously proposed shallow plume of Bermuda. Here we present the first δ 66 Zn isotopic compositions of Bermuda silica-undersaturated and silica-saturated lavas to explore the origin of the carbon-rich lithologies and the genesis of the large seamount found in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Contrasting with global δ 66 Zn data sets, our results (δ 66 Zn between 0.24 ± 0.04 and 0.41 ± 0.04) do not support direct sampling of recycled marine carbonates in the Bermuda HIMU mantle. Instead, we show that δ 66 Zn fractionation toward higher values is associated with magmatic processes and incorporation of carbon sourced from deep fluids associated with the formation of carbonatites. These carbon-rich fluids are likely sourced from the metasomatic reactions between the subducted cold slab of the Iapetus oceanic lithosphere ca. 500 Ma and the thickened continental lithospheric mantle of Pangea. Melting of this metasomatized mantle was triggered by the arrival of the Farallon slab to the eastern North American margin in the late Cenozoic via shallow convection.
The Zn isotope composition in refractory-element-rich inclusions of the Allende meteorite are determined. Typical inclusions contain normal Zn. A unique inclusion of the Allende meteorite shows an excess for Zn-66 of 16.7 + or - 3.7 eu (1 eu = 0.01 percent) and a deficit for Zn-70 of 21 + or - 13 eu. These results indicate the preservation of exotic components even for volatile elements in this inclusion. The observed excess Zn-66 correlates with excesses for the neutron-rich isotopes of Ca-48, Ti-50, Cr-54, and Fe-58 in the same inclusion.
The isotopic compositions of Zn, Cr, Ti, and Ca have been measured in a number of CAIs from the Allende meteorite. The aim was to test astrophysical models which predict large excesses of Zn-66 to accompany excesses in the neutron-rich isotopes of Ca, Ti, Cr, and Ni. Some of the CAIs show clearly resolved but small excesses for Zn-66 which are at least an order of magnitude smaller than predicted. This result may simply reflect the volatility and chemical behavior of Zn as compared to the other (more refractory) anomalous elements found in these samples. Alternatively, revision of parameters and assumptions used for the model calculations may be required.
Heterogeneous isotopic compositions of Zn and Ga in lunar basalts and highlands rocks indicate that secondary processing affected the stable isotopic composition of major lunar reservoirs. It follows that these fractionating processes must be identified and characterized in order to make robust estimates for the isotopic composition of the mare basalt source regions or the bulk silicate Moon (BSM). Contrary to previous assertions (e.g., Kato & Moynier, 2017), MVEs such as Zn and Ga do not behave similarly on the Moon, in line with differences in their chemical behavior and volatility. There is clear evidence that impact reworking fractionates zinc isotopes but, in addition, zinc isotopes are also highly sensitive to the formation of Ti-bearing oxides such as ilmenite. In contrast, gallium is far less susceptible to volatile reworking, but its isotopic composition is fractionated during incorporation into plagioclase (Wimpenny et al., 2022; Render et al., 2023). Based on these findings we conclude that current isotopic compositions of Zn and Ga in lunar rocks, such as those measured for the mare basalt suite, are unlikely to be representative of the bulk Moon when it accreted. As such, estimates for the MVE isotopic composition of the BSM derived from mare basalts may not be accurate, which may have implications for the incorporation of these data into dynamical models of the Moon’s formation. In the following, we discuss the main findings from this project in more detail, focusing on the behaviour of zinc and gallium isotopic systematics in lunar rocks and the processes that control their isotopic fractionation on the Moon.
Generalized gradient approximated BP86 density functional employing triple zeta valence plus polarization (TZVP) basis set has been used to compute the reduced partition function ratio and isotopic separation factor for zinc isotopes. The isotopic separation factor was found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. The isotopic separation factor was found to depend on the conformation of the crown ether ligand. The trans-trans conformation shows the highest fractionation compared to cis-cis conformer. The present theoretical results can thus be used to plan the isotope separation experiments.
The application of zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) isotopes as palaeo-proxies in carbonate sediment is rapidly expanding due to their potential for tracing changes in biological productivity in the modern and past oceans. However, there are limited investigations into the chemical cleaning methods required to produce the most consistent and accurate data for these novel isotope systems. This could impact their use as palaeo-proxies to reconstruct ocean-atmosphere-climate interactions throughout Earth's history. To address this concern and expand the utility of the Zn and Cd stable isotope systems as palaeo-productivity tracers, the performance of two standard chemical cleaning protocols for acquiring robust and reliable Zn and Cd isotope datasets were assessed. These include (i) the Cd-cleaning method that uses a reductive step to selectively leach contaminating secondary iron (Fe)-manganese (Mn) (oxyhydr)oxide coatings from the carbonate surface, and an oxidative step that is used to remove post-depositional organic matter and sulphide precipitates; and (ii) the magnesium/calcium cleaning protocol that includes an oxidative step only, leaving secondary Fesingle bondMn (oxyhydr)oxide coatings largely intact. Well-preserved Holocene-, and Mesozoic-aged carbonate sediments were used to test the reliability of these two chemical cleaning methods. The Holocene samples comprised not only aliquots of bulk sediment, but also individual species of planktic and benthic foraminifera. Our results show that the best practice chemical cleaning method for retrieving consistent and accurate Zn and Cd isotope, and Zn/Ca and Cd/Ca datasets for carbonate sediments, requires both reductive and oxidative cleaning following the Cd-cleaning method. This differs from most methodological approaches applied to date that remove the reductive step from the chemical cleaning protocol and apply an oxidative step only, or no chemical cleaning at all. Inclusion of the reductive step in the chemical cleaning method typically shifts δ 66 Zn by ~0.1‰ lower and δ 114 Cd by 0.3‰ higher in the solid phase, while Zn/Ca and Cd/Ca typically decrease 2-fold. The benthic foraminifera, C. wuellerstorfi, that live in ocean bottom waters where the seawater Zn and Cd isotope composition is homogeneous display evidence of Zn and Cd isotope fractionation between seawater and carbonate on the order of 0.08 ± 0.08‰ (2SE, n = 4) and -0.25 ± 0.13‰ (2SE, n = 4), respectively, in agreement with experimental constraints. Furthermore, evidence of Zn isotope fractionation effects are recorded in a naturally-dissolved carbonate sediment, together with laboratory-controlled carbonate dissolution experiments. Based on these results, we recommend the Cd-cleaning method and the application of Zn and Cd isotope fractionation factors to accurately reconstruct past seawater Zn and Cd isotope compositions from carbonate sediments.
We report that zinc isotopes fractionate during evaporation, and thus can potentially be used to calculate the proportion of volatile elemental loss from objects such as tektites, nuclear fallout melt glasses formed from silicate soils, and rocks from the Moon. The utility of the Zn isotope system in constraining the magnitude of volatile loss depends on accurate knowledge of its fractionation behavior during evaporation, i.e., the Zn isotope fractionation factor. In this work, we present new results of Zn isotope analyses of experimentally heated soil samples, together with analyses of environmentally derived fallout melt glasses, and australite tektites, to better constrain how and to what extent Zn isotopes fractionate during thermally-driven evaporation.
The cross sections for the production of three most neutron-deficient zinc isotopes, 54–56 Zn, in the projectile fragmentation of 78 Kr at 345 MeV/nucleon on a beryllium target, were measured. Although the results are smaller by over an order of magnitude from those obtained with a 58 Ni beam at 75 MeV/nucleon on a nickel target, the rates of reaction products are found to be larger in the case of high-energy fragmentation of 78 Kr. The experimental cross sections for the most neutron-deficient isotopes of even-Z nuclei between zinc and krypton were analyzed in the framework of the abrasion-ablation model. A very good agreement with the data was found when the nuclear masses predicted by a particular variant of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov mass model were used. The prospects for the observation of more exotic isotopes in this region are discussed in context of 2p radioactivity.
Experimental proton single-particle energies in the vicinity of the Fermi energy for stable zinc and germanium isotopes are analyzed on the basis the dispersive optical model. The values found for the parameters of the dispersive optical potential are corrected with the aim of matching the total number of protons that is calculated with the aid of the function of Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory for the occupation probability for single-particle orbits with the charge number Z of the nucleus. The parameters of the dispersive optical potential are extrapolated on the basis of physically motivated arguments to the region of unstable isotopes in which the number N ranges between 34 and 50, and single-particle spectra are predicted by means of calculations with these parameters.
The 1999 publication of Nuclear Data Sheets for A=56 (1999Hu04) has been updated using experimental nuclear structure data and decay data available before November 2009. The information for {sup 56}K, {sup 56}Ca, {sup 56}Sc, {sup 56}Ti, {sup 56}V, {sup 56}Cr, {sup 56}Mn, {sup 56}Fe, {sup 56}Co, {sup 56}Ni, {sup 56}Cu, and {sup 56}Zn from various reaction and decay experiments together with their adopted levels and {gamma} transition properties is summarized and presented.
The single-particle proton spectra of the neutron-deficient isotopes {sup 50,52}Ni, {sup 56,58,60,62}Zn, and {sup 60,62,64}Ge were calculated on the basis of the dispersive optical model whose parameters were extrapolated from the region of stable isotopes. The resulting parameter values lead to agreement between the total number of protons in bound states and the charge number Z of the respective nucleus. The results of the calculations are indicative of a weakly magic character of the {sup 58}Zn nucleus, which has a traditional magic number of N = 28 and a nearly magic number of Z = 30, and the {sup 64}Ge nucleus, for which N = Z = 32.
New fusion data for the {sup 4}He+{sup 64}Zn system at sub-barrier energies are measured to cover the same energy region of previous measurements for {sup 6}He+{sup 64}Zn. Aim of the experiment was to compare the fusion excitation functions for the two system to investigate on the effects of the {sup 6}He neutron-halo structure on the fusion reaction mechanism at energies around the Coulomb barrier. The fusion cross section was measured by using an activation technique. Comparing the two systems, we observe an enhancement of the fusion cross section in the reaction induced by {sup 6}He, at and below the Coulomb barrier.
Elastic-scattering angular distributions for the {sup 6}Li+{sup 64}Zn system were measured at energies from below to above the Coulomb barrier. The experimental data were analyzed within the optical model to study the energy dependence of the interaction potential. The results suggest the presence of the breakup threshold anomaly. Preliminary results on the fusion cross-sections for the same system are also reported.
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The transverse flow and relative midrapidity yield of isotopically identified light charged particles (LCPs) has been examined for the 35 MeV/nucleon {sup 70}Zn+{sup 70}Zn, {sup 64}Zn+{sup 64}Zn, and {sup 64}Ni+{sup 64}Ni systems. A large enhancement of the midrapidity yield of the LCPs was observed relative to the yield near the projectile rapidity. In particular, this enhancement was increased for the more neutron-rich LCPs demonstrating a preference for the production of neutron-rich fragments in the midrapidity region. Additionally, the transverse flow of the LCPs was extracted, which provides insight into the average movement of the particles in the midrapidity region. Isotopic and isobaric effects were observed in the transverse flow of the fragments. In both cases, the transverse flow was shown to decrease with an increasing neutron content in the fragments. A clear inverse relationship between the transverse flow and the relative midrapidity yield is shown. The increased relative midrapidity emission produces a decreased transverse flow. The stochastic mean-field model was used for comparison to the experimental data. The results showed that the model was able to reproduce the general isotopic and isobaric trends for the midrapidity emission and transverse flow. The sensitivity of these observables to the density dependence of the symmetry energy was explored. The results indicate that the transverse flow and midrapidity emission of the LCPs are sensitive to the denisty dependence of the symmetry energy.