Determination of the Deuterium Content of a Sample of Deuterium Oxide by Three Methods.

Methods are described for the determination of deuterium content in D/ sub 2/O by reduction-mass spectrometric, density analysis, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The accuracy of the iron decomposition-mass spectrometer method, when carried out with sufficient care, was confirmed by agreement with other methods. An uncertainty of 0.001% in the density of pure D/sub 2/O results in an uncertainty of 0.01% in the deuterium content. The NMR method for the measurement of small amounts of protium in deuterium oxide permits the deuterium content to be known to plus or minus 0.01%.