AMS radiocarbon dating of iron artefacts

Iron is combusted with Cu null x null O as an oxygen donor in a sealed quartz tube to extract its carbon for radiocarbon dating. We used “modern” iron and steel samples with carbon contents between 0.07% and 3.8%, to test the efficiency of carbon extraction varying: (a) the grain size of the sample aliquot, (b) temperature (1000 and 1050 °C), (c) duration (10 and 24 h) and (d) oxygen excess of the combustion. null The amount of oxygen had a...