Isotope Fractionation due to Sedimentation of Atoms in Centrifuged Indium-Lead Alloy

The atomic-scale graded structure of In-Pb alloy was formed by an ultracentrifuge under a gravitational field of 0.81 x 106 g for 100 hours at 150 ℃ in solid state. The isotope ratio measurements were performed on the centrifuged sample with secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS, CAMECA IMS-6f). 206Pb/208Pb and 207Pb/208Pb isotope ratio changed with negative gradient in the direction of centrifugal force approximately 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively. There was a tendency that the heavy 208Pb isotope abundance increased and the light 206Pb isotope abundance decreased in the direction of centrifugal force. Three-isotope diagram of 206Pb/208Pb versus 207Pb/208Pb proved that the isotope fractionation depends on the isotopic mass difference. These results showed that a strong gravitational field not only affected the inter-diffusion but also the self-diffusion in this alloy by causing isotope fractionation effect, which was dependent on the mass-difference.