Determination of boron in amorphous and nanostructured soft magnetic alloys,ribbons and layered materials by ICP atomic emission spectrometry

Optimum conditions for the accurate determination of B in amorphous or nanocrystalline soft magnetic Fe and Co base alloys (ribbons), boride coated powders and other materials by ICP atomic emission spectrometry are worked out. The spectral interferences of the 3 most prominent B emission lines caused by the matrix elements Fe, Co and Ni and the enhancement of the B blank values by a memory effect are investigated. Using a well-suited line fitted to the sample matrix and a special measuring regime including frequent recalibrations by an external standard, the total error of the analytical method could be reduced to 0.02% at B contents of 1 to 5% (w/w).     

Volatilization of methyl borate in iron matrix. Determination of boron in steel by ICP atomic emission spectrometry

A rapid and reliable method for the determination of boron by ICP-AES in steels is described. The procedure is based on a discontinuous generation of methyl borate, in concentrated sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid medium, after injecting 45 microl of methanol in 20 microl of sample. The gaseous methyl borate and excess methanol are fed into the ICP torch via the intermediate tube by a flow of 430 ml/min Ar carrier gas, without disturbing the discharge. This work simplifies drastically the existing methodology of boron analysis in steels. Acid-soluble boron has been determined, but acid-insoluble boron can also be determined. The determination is carried out without iron interferences, with a reproducibility of 1.90% r.s.d. for a concentration of 20 microg/ml, and an absolute detection limit of 20 ng of total boron, working with a solution volume of 20 microl.     

Determination of traces of boron in semiconductor amorphous silicon film by filament-vaporization inductively-coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometry

Silicon is dissolved from the platinum substrate by nitric/hydrofluoric acids. The recovery of boron on direct analysis was poor, but was increased to >95% by the addition of 500–5000 μg ml^?1 phosphorus as phosphoric acid. The results compared well with the molar ratio of the gases (B₂H₆/(Ar + H₂) used to form the film and the intensity ratio of ¹¹B⁺ and ³⁰Si⁺ obtained by secondary-ion mass spectrometry.     

电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定无定形硼粉中的镁元素

提出了使用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定无定形硼粉中Mg元素的分析方法。采用硝酸、盐酸溶解样品,用硝酸和盐酸的混合酸作为测定介质,在选定的仪器条件下直接测定。Mg元素的测定检出限为0.0044μg/mL,相对标准偏差(RSD,n=6)为0.49％～0.60％,样品加标回收率在94.0％～102.0％之间。经对比试验证明,本方法测定值与美国军用标准重量法测定值一致。     

Determination of boron in geological materials by inductively-coupled plasma emission spectrometry

Determination of boron in international silicate reference materials with an argon plasma is demonstrated. Detection limits are about 5 ppm for rock samples.     

Determination of boron in engine coolants by direct current plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Boron in unused engine coolants is determined by direct current plasma atomic emission spectrometry with a relative standard deviation of approximately 1%. Ethane-1,2-diol is added to calibration solutions to match the concentrations in the samples being analyzed. Results obtained are within 1% of the amount of boron in an engine coolant of known composition. The time needed for a batch of 10 samples is approximately 3 h.     

Determination of boron in boron-alloyed steels by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

An inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) procedure has been developed and examined for the determination of boron content (0.01 up to about 2% B) in boron-alloyed steels such as POLDI ATA BOR (65% Fe, 19%Cr, 12% Ni, 1.5% Mn, 1% B), POLDI ATA BOR EXTRA (62% Fe, 18% Cr, 13% Ni, 2.5% Mo, 1.5% Mn, 1% B) and POLDI ATA BOR-R (75% Fe, 18% Cr, 3.5% Ti, 1.8% B). The steel sample is dissolved with a mixture of hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric and phosphoric acids in a quartz vessel. Borides of alloyed metals, especially of iron and chromium, are quantitatively decomposed. The presence of phosphoric acid in a sample solution reduces the volatility of boric acid with water vapour.Presented in part at the 1989 European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, Reutte, Austria     

Improved accuracy for the analysis of soft magnetic alloys by inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry by using advanced standardization procedures

The applicability of simultaneous ICP-OES for the accurate analysis of soft magnetic alloys has been investigated. Long-time signal variations of up to 40% can be observed under normal operating conditions. The scattering of the values can largely be compensated by a correction procedure with internal and external standardization where the intensity value of the analytical signal is first rationed to the simultaneously measured intensity of an internal standard line and after that recalibrated with an external standard. Not only the trueness but also the precision could be improved by using Cd as a real-time internal standard. This is attributed to a compensation for instrumental fluctuations as a result of the simultaneous measurement of both emission signals.     

Improved accuracy for the analysis of soft magnetic alloys by inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry by using advanced standardization procedures

The applicability of simultaneous ICP-OES for the accurate analysis of soft magnetic alloys has been investigated. Long-time signal variations of up to 40% can be observed under normal operating conditions. The scattering of the values can largely be compensated by a correction procedure with internal and external standardization where the intensity value of the analytical signal is first rationed to the simultaneously measured intensity of an internal standard line and after that recalibrated with an external standard. Not only the trueness but also the precision could be improved by using Cd as a real-time internal standard. This is attributed to a compensation for instrumental fluctuations as a result of the simultaneous measurement of both emission signals.     

Determination of boron in steel by an ICP emission spectrometric technique

Summary A method was developed for the emission spectrometric determination of boron in steel using ICP excitation. Interfering effects of the matrix are avoided by pyrohydrolytic separation of boron. It is possible to determine boron from 1 mg/kg upwards.     

火花放电原子发射光谱法测定钛及钛合金中主要元素

采用火花放电原子发射光谱法测定了钛及钛合金中碳、铁、铝和钒的含量。通过对钛合金样品的表面处理方式、氩气流量和压力、类型标准化等参数的摸索,确立了一套系统的分析方法。结果表明,4种元素测定的相对标准偏差在0.40%~6.8%,测定结果和化学湿法分析结果相比基本一致,比较适合批量检测。     

火花放电原子发射光谱法测定钛及钛合金中主要元素

采用火花放电原子发射光谱法测定了钛及钛合金中碳、铁、铝和钒的含量。通过对钛合金样品的表面处理方式、氩气流量和压力、类型标准化等参数的摸索,确立了一套系统的分析方法。结果表明,4种元素测定的相对标准偏差在0.40%～6.8%,测定结果和化学湿法分析结果相比基本一致,比较适合批量检测。     

Determination of boron,beryllium and lithium in coal ash and geological materials by spark optical emission spectrometry

A method is described for the accurate and precise determination of boron, beryllium and lithium in coal ash and geological materials by a point-to-plane high-voltage spark optical emission spectrometric technique. A 200-mg sample is crushed and blended with graphite, copper oxide internal standard and cellulose powders, and briquetted. Synthetic calibration standards are prepared from spectrographically pure materials blended into graphite. Corrections are made for spectral interference by iron and silicon on boron. Accurate results are presented for certified reference materials. The precision of the method, about 5%, is superior to that obtained by d.c. arc optical emission.     

Comparative instrumental multi-element analysis I: Comparison of ICP source mass spectrometry with ICP atomic emission spectrometry, ICP atomic fluorescence spectrometry and atomic absorption spectrometry for the analysis of natural waters from a granite region

Summary Multi-element analysis by ICP source mass spectrometry for practically matrix-free natural waters, coming from a granitic area and, therefore, rich in trace elements, has been compared with ICP-atomic emission, ICP atomic fluorescence and atomic absorption spectrometry. The following elements have been investigated and their concentrations are in the decreasing order: Ca, Si, Na, Mg, K, Al; Sr, Mn, Ba, Fe, Rb, Zn, B, U, Y, Li, La, Be, Cs, Co, Cr, V, Sb, Bi, Th, Cu, Cd, Ni, Se, Pb, As, Hg, Mo, Tl, Sn. The concentration ranges were between 10 ppm and <0.01 ppb.As a measure of agreement between the different methods under investigation, two criteria have been used (a) the relative variation coefficient VK (%) of the mean element concentration of an element, determined by different methods in all the 98 water samples and (b) the linear, logarithmic and Spearman rank correlation coefficients between ICP-MS and each of the other methods. Detection limits are given from literature for about 32 elements using different methods.The elements Ca, Na, Mg, K, Mn, Sr, Zn, Fe, Li, Cu have been determined with ICP-MS, ICP-AES and AAS; Al, Ba with ICP-MS and ICP-AES; Si only with ICP-AES, whereas B, Be, Bi, Co, Cr, Cs, Hg, La, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sn, Th, Tl, U, V, Y only with ICP-MS. In all 34 of the investigated 36 elements could be analysed by ICP-MS, 14 (from about 20 possible) by AAS, 13 by ICP-AES and 12 by ICP-AFS.The agreement between ICP-MS and ICP-AES as well as between ICP-MS and AAS in most cases is remarkably good according to (a). VK (%) for each element in 98 water samples is in the range from ±2.6 to 10% for Na, Mg, Ca, K, Fe, Sr, Ba, Cu, Li (increasing order). Cd and Zn have unexpectedly higher values (±17.3 and ±20.5%); Cd concentrations are, however, near the detection limit.Comparing the different methods on the basis of correlation coefficients according to (b), gives for the Spearman rank correlation coefficient over the whole range of concentrations, respectively for ICP-MS/ICP-AES, AAS, ICP-AFS in case of Ca: 0.998; 0.984; 0.899; Na: 0.993; 0.991; 0.978; Mg: 0.997; 0.993; 0.959; K: 0.986; 0.942; 0.677; Al: 0.987; -; -; Fe: 0.864; 0.974; 0.701; Mn: 0.989; 0.990; 0.198; Sr: 0.988; 0.992; -; Zn: 0.894; 0.819; 0.300; Cu: -; 0.977; 0.202; Li: -; 0.907; 0.586.It is evident from these trace element concentrations as well as the electrical conductivities, that only about three fourths of the investigated samples are typical granitic waters and the remaining ones are associated with different geological background. The samples have been mainly radon waters with more than 18 nCi/l of Rn-222.

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Vergleichende Instrumentelle Multielementanalyse I: Vergleich von ICP-Massenspektrometrie mit ICP-Atomemissionsspektrometrie, ICP-Atomfluorescenzspektrometrie und Atomabsorptionsspektrometrie zur Analyse natürlicher Wässer aus einem Granitgebiet

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6th Contribution to the principles of trace analysis of elements and radionuclides

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Dedicated to Professor Dr. H. Kelker, Frankfurt, on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Determination of barium,copper and yttrium in superconductor materials by inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometry

Barium, copper and yttrium (or a rare earth element) in superconductor and related materials were determined by inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometry. Relative standard deviations of repeated determinations were about 2%. The results obtained with this method agree within 2% (average relative deviation) of those obtained with chemical methods.     

Determination of niobium and tantalum in some ores and special alloys by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A fast analytical method for the determination of niobium and tantalum in ores and special alloys by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry has been developed. Optimum conditions for the determination of both metals in the plasma were worked out and possible interferences were studied before attempting the determination in the real samples. Ores are dissolved in a mixture of HCl, HF and H₃PO₄ acids while for the special alloy a HCl+H₂O₂ mixture is used. The resulting solutions are diluted to the mark with tartaric acid before their final direct nebulization into the plasma. Other elements present did not interfere in the determination of Nb or Ta at concentration levels similar to those found in the analyzed samples. The results obtained determining niobium and tantalum in pyrochlore and special alloys by the proposed procedure are in good agreement with the certified values.     

Determination of copper in milk powder by electrothermal atomic absorption and atomic emission spectrometry

Summary Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETA-AAS) and atomic emission spectrometry (ETA-AES) have been applied to the determination of copper in powdered milk. A homogeneous dispersion procedure for the preparation of the milk powder is described which was found to be simple, rapid and less susceptible to contamination than dry ashing or wet digestion methods. Both ETA-AAS and ETA-AES techniques were found to provide satisfactory results using conventional tube wall atomisation only when the method of standard additions was employed. The application of graphite probe atomisation in ETA-AES and ETA-AAS allowed the development of direct methods for the determination of copper in milk powder using aqueous standard calibration curves. The accuracy of the probe ETA-AAS method was confirmed using new reference materials prepared by the EEC Community Bureau of Reference. Acceptable agreement was obtained for the other procedures using a commercial milk powder sample with a copper content of 6.0g g^–1.     

Determination of silica in geological materials by atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple rapid method for the routine determination of silica by atomic absorption spectrometry (a.a.s.) in a wide range of geological materials is described. Samples are decomposed by heating with hydrofluoric acid in closed containers and diluted gravimetrically. Large concentrations of free hydrofluoric acid are tolerated and the resulting solutions show excellent stability. No chemical interference was identified in the atomic absorption measurements. The technique was extended to the micro-determination of silica in samples of milligram size as well as trace-level silicon in waters. The average standard deviation is ?1% by the recommended method, 2.6% by the micro-method and 2–6% at trace level (20–0.5 ppm Si), respectively. The procedure described complements the a.a.s. scheme in current use for some 25 major and trace elements.     

Determination of antimony,bismuth, and zinc in environmental samples by atomic emission spectrometry

A procedure was developed for the atomic emission determination of antimony, zinc, and bismuth in bird and fish ash using thermochemical iodination reactions in a chamber electrode of an alternating current (ac) carbon arc. A mixture of cadmium iodide and carbon powder was used as an iodination agent. The relative standard deviation of the procedure was 10–15%. The minimum detection limit was 2.1 × 10⁻⁴, 7.5 × 10⁻⁵, and 1.2 × 10⁻⁴% for antimony, bismuth, and zinc, respectively.