Atomic Spectroscopy

Assessment of matrix-dependent analyte stability and volatility during open-vessel sample dissolution for arsenic, cadmium, mercury and selenium

The effects of calcium and magnesium (as nitrates) and phosphorous (as hydrogen phosphate) were investigated on the stability of As, Cd, Hg, and Se during open-vessel dissolution in Teflon vessels. Samples of mainly inorganic and biological matrices were dissolved in screw-capped Teflon tubes in HNO(3) only or in a mixture of HNO(3)-HF. The caps were then removed and the solutions were simultaneously evaporated at 120 °C to near dryness without drying the contents (Method I) or to complete dryness with extended heating for 20 min at dryness (Method II). ICP-MS analysis indicated that the stabilities of Se and Hg were highly influenced by Ca, Mg and PO(4) content in the sample. Arsenic (As) and Cd did not show any significant instability or volatility. Selenium was lost in Method II from biological samples containing trace levels of Ca, Mg and PO(4). Mercury was unstable during heating in all samples, except bone ash for which no significant loss was detected in Method I. Losses observed for Hg and Se were consistent with Ca, Mg and PO(4) deficiency in the samples and hence indicated that nitrate and hydrogen phosphate salts of these matrix elements do improve stability of the relatively volatile elements during open-vessel dissolution in teflon vessels. While Se was effectively stabilized with sub-per cent levels of Ca, Mg and PO(4), Hg due its high volatility required significantly higher levels of Ca and PO(4) in the bone ash.

Spatially Resolved, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Development, and Application for the Analysis of Al and Si in Nickel-Based Alloys

Spatially resolved laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (SRLIBS) was used for the characterization of aluminum and silicon in nickel-based alloys. The very low invasiveness of the technique was one of the figures of merit of LIBS; however, the relative complexity of the instrument often hindered the widely acceptance of LIBS. Spatially resolved LIBS could provide accuracy and precision comparable to those obtained with temporally resolved LIBS (TRLIBS). In the nongated spatially resolved LIBS, the maximum atomic emission could be obtained with relative low continuum background emission at optimum observation spatial position. The study was done with a Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm, 3.0 mJ laser energy, and 0.2 mbar in argon. The experimental results obtained under optimum conditions were compared to those obtained with TRLIBS. SRLIBS gave reliable results without the tedious optimization of the delay time and gate width.

The concept of constant emission yield in GDOES

This review paper describes the evolution of the quantification procedure for compositional depth profiling (CDP) in glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES), based on the constant emission yield concept. The concept of emission yield (EY) is defined and ways of measuring it experimentally are discussed. The history of the development of quantitative CDP is reviewed, which shows that all of the different approaches depend on the assumption that the EY is essentially a matrix-independent quantity. Particular emphasis is placed on the dependence of the EY on the plasma parameters of current, voltage, power and pressure. In short, impedance changes (current voltage) can significantly affect the emission yield and should either be corrected mathematically or the impedance should be kept constant by pressure regulation in order to obtain reliable results from GDOES CDP. On the other hand, the effect of varying the pressure on the emission yield can be considered to be minor within the limits of practical operating conditions for most CDP applications. It is worth, however, bearing in mind that varying the discharge pressure has a significant effect on the plasma processes, and does affect the emission yield when these variations are large. The experimental results obtained for the emission yield are related to the results from theoretical model calculations published on the subject.