Optimization of slurry nebulization inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry for the analysis of ZrO2-powder

The optimization and use of ICP-AES with slurry nebulization for the direct analysis of ZrO₂-powder is described. The powder samples are dispersed in water, acidified to pH 2 and the slurry is fed into a Babington nebulizer. The effects of grain size, pH of the suspending medium and standing time on the stability of the slurry are discussed. For the optimization of the ICP operating conditions, a simplex technique is applied and for this purpose three types of objective functions were examined. Identical behaviour of slurries and solutions with the same matrix concentrations in the ICP-AES is achieved for powders with particle sizes lower than 10 m; in the latter case calibration can be performed by standard addition with aqueous solutions. The detection limits for Al, B, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Ti, V. Y are 0.03 g/g to 10 g/g and the standard deviation is generally lower than 10%. Six commercially available ZrO₂ powders are analyzed by slurry nebulization ICP-AES and the results were found to agree well with those obtained by ICP-AES after chemical decomposition of the samples.On leave from Department of Analytical Chemistry, Technical University, PL-00-664 Warsaw, Poland     

Some topical applications of plasma atomic spectrochemical methods for the analysis of ceramic powders

The scope of a number of plasma spectrochemical methods for the determination of the main components and impurities in ceramic powders is described. These methods meet the requirements for the analytical characterization of new structural and functional ceramics for modern industrial applications and electronic devices. For ceramic powders, spectrochemical analysis with direct methods as well as analysis subsequent to sample dissolution are discussed. Fusion is a powerful method for the dissolution of ZrO₂ ceramic powders, provided the fluxes are pure enough. For determinations in Al₂O₃, SiC and ZrO₂, it will be shown that ICP-MS is very useful. This is especially true for trace analysis after matrix removal. The latter can easily be performed on-line in the case of the analysis of Al₂O₃ powders. For direct analysis of ceramic powders, the direct insertion of samples into the plasma, spark and arc ablation, laser ablation, electrothermal vaporization and slurry nebulization are discussed. Particular attention is given to the direct analysis of ceramics in powder form (Al₂O₃, SiC, Si₃N₄, B₄, WC) using ICP-OES with slurry nebulization as well as with direct sample insertion (DSI) and with electrothermal vaporization (ETV). For the two latter methods, the use of chemical modifiers for volatile compound formation will be shown to be of great importance, and its features will be explained using thermochemical considerations. Received: 18 February 1998 / Revised: 13 May 1998 / Accepted: 9 June 1998     

Analysis of advanced ceramics and their basic products

Summary A review on the analysis of the most important ceramic materials and their basic substances is given. The importance of minor and trace elements in the bulk as well as their distribution on the microscale in both classes of substances is discussed by the example of Al₂O₃, AlN, TiO₂, Si₃N₄, SiO₂, SiC, Y₂O₃, ZrO₂-based and some other ceramics and of their basic substances. The state-of-the-art and trends of development in modern atomic spectrometric methods for bulk analysis of the basic substances subsequent to sample dissolution, such as plasma emission and mass spectrometry, but also of direct methods such as slurry nebulization for plasma spectrometry, inorganic mass spectrometry and X-ray spectrometry are discussed. Further, first approaches for the in-depth analysis of powders and trends in direct methods for compact ceramics based on laser evaporation as well as on electron and ion probe techniques are presented. The latter are illustrated with selected examples from the literature.

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Analyse von modernen keramischen Materialien und ihren Grundstoffen

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. R. Neeb on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Modelling of the evaporation behaviour of particulate material for slurry nebulization inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

This paper is an electronic publication in Spectrochimica Acta Electronica (SAE), the electronic section of Spectrochimica Acta, Part B (SAB). This hardcopy text, comprising the main body and an appendix, is accompanied by a disk with programs, data files and a brief manual. The main body discusses purpose, design principle and usage of the computer software for modelling the evaporation behaviour of particles in inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Computer software has been developed in FORTRAN 77 language in order to simulate the evaporation behaviour of particles of refractory materials such as encountered in the analysis of advanced ceramic powders by slurry nebulization inductively coupled argon plasma atomic spectrometry. The program simulates the evaporation of single particles in the inductively coupled plasma and also enable it to calculate on the base of a given particle size distribution the evaporation behaviour of all the particles contained in a sample. In a so-called “intensity concept”, the intensity is calculated as a function of the observation height in order to determine recovery rates for slurries compared with aqueous solutions. This yields a quick insight whether a calibration with aqueous solutions can be used for analysis of slurries of a given powder by slurry nebulization ICP-AES and also is a help in determining the optimal parameters for analyses of powders by means of slurry nebulization ICP-AES.Applications for the evaporation of Al₂O₃ and SiC powders document the usefulness of the model for the case of a 1.5 kW argon ICP of which the temperature at 8 mm above the load coil has been determined to be 6100 K. The model predicts the maximum particle size for SiC and Al₂O₃ that can be transported (10–15 μm) and evaporated for a given efficiency under given experimental conditions. For both Al₂O₃ and SiC, two ceramic powders of different grain size were investigated. The median particle sizes cover the range typical of ceramic powders. Investigations were made for SiC A 10 (median particle size 2.2 μm), SiC F1200 (4.3 μm) and Al₂O₃ AKP 30 (< 1.9 μm) and Al₂O₃ Cilas 715 (3.0 μm), respectively, in which particles with diameters of up to 23 μm still are found.     

Some topical applications of plasma atomic spectrochemical methods for the analysis of ceramic powders

The scope of a number of plasma spectrochemical methods for the determination of the main components and impurities in ceramic powders is described. These methods meet the requirements for the analytical characterization of new structural and functional ceramics for modern industrial applications and electronic devices. For ceramic powders, spectrochemical analysis with direct methods as well as analysis subsequent to sample dissolution are discussed. Fusion is a powerful method for the dissolution of ZrO₂ ceramic powders, provided the fluxes are pure enough. For determinations in Al₂O₃, SiC and ZrO₂, it will be shown that ICP-MS is very useful. This is especially true for trace analysis after matrix removal. The latter can easily be performed on-line in the case of the analysis of Al₂O₃ powders. For direct analysis of ceramic powders, the direct insertion of samples into the plasma, spark and arc ablation, laser ablation, electrothermal vaporization and slurry nebulization are discussed. Particular attention is given to the direct analysis of ceramics in powder form (Al₂O₃, SiC, Si₃N₄, B₄, WC) using ICP-OES with slurry nebulization as well as with direct sample insertion (DSI) and with electrothermal vaporization (ETV). For the two latter methods, the use of chemical modifiers for volatile compound formation will be shown to be of great importance, and its features will be explained using thermochemical considerations.     

Determination of impurities in silicon carbide powders

Summary The analysis of SiC powders used for the production of high-performance ceramics was investigated by combined procedures as well as by a direct technique including atomic spectrometric detection. For the combined chemical procedure, SiC powders (0.25 g) were completely dissolved in a mixture of HNO₃, HF and fuming H₂SO₄ in an autoclave at 240°C within 8 to 20 h. In the final 0.5% w/v solution 13 elements were determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) and by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). With acid decomposition the detection limits for Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mg, Mn and Zn were found to be in the range of 0.1–1 g/g; those for Al, B, Fe, Ni, Ti and V are at the 1–5 g/g level. With a Babingtontype nebulizer 1% slurries of SiC can be directly analyzed by ICP-AES. Calibration was performed by standard addition of aqueous solutions of the elements to be determined and the detection limits are close to those of ETAAS subsequent to pressure decomposition. The required analysis time was reduced from approx. 24 h to 30 min. First results for Ca, Cr, Cu, Mg, Mn, Ti and V as well as the needs to overcome systematic errors of this method, e.g. for Fe, are communicated.Part of this paper was presented at XI. International Symposium of Microtechniques, Wiesbaden, FRG, Aug. 28th–Sept. 1st 1989     

Advanced ceramics and their basic products: A challenge to the analytical sciences

The analytical characterization required in the development and in the quality control of new ceramics is discussed. For the basic substances, the problems encountered in the development of routine techniques for a direct and reliable analysis of Al₂O₃, AlN, Si₃N₄, SiC, and ZrO₂ powders are reported. Among the atomic spectrometric methods, especially slurry atomization ICP-spectrometry is described. Also the problems encountered in the development of combined procedures as required for the characterization of reference samples are presented. Methods for the direct bulk analysis of ceramics and microdistributional analysis, as they are now under development with laser-based techniques and various probe techniques, are described as well.     

In-situ vaporization and matrix removal for the determination of rare earth impurities in zirconium dioxide by electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A novel method for the determination of trace rare earth impurities in ZrO₂ powder has been developed based on electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. A polytetrafluoroethylene slurry was used as a fluorinating reagent to convert both the matrix (Zr) and the analytes (rare earth elements) into fluorides with different volatilities at a high temperature in a graphite furnace. The more volatile ZrF₄ was removed in-situ by selective vaporization prior to the determination of the analytes, removing matrix spectral interferences. Under optimum operating conditions, the absolute detection limits of the analytes varied from 0.04 ng (Yb) to 0.50 ng (Pr) with relative standard deviations less than 5%. The recommended approach has been successfully applied to the determination of trace rare earth impurities (La, Pr, Eu, Gd, Ho and Yb) in ZrO₂ powder and the results were in good agreement with those obtained by pneumatic nebulization inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry after the separation of the matrix using a solvent extraction procedure.     

Application of high-surface-area ZrO2 in preconcentration and determination of 18 elements by on-line flow injection with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A flow-injection analysis (FIA) system incorporating a micro-column of ZrO₂ has been used for the development of an on-line multi-element method for the simultaneous preconcentration and determination of Al, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, In, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Tl, V, Sb, Sn, and Zn by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES). The conditions for quantitative and reproducible preconcentration, elution, and subsequent on-line ICP–AES determination were established. A sample (pH 8) is pumped through the column at 3 mL min^–1 and sequentially eluted directly into the ICP–AES with 3 mol L^–1 HNO₃. With a sample volume of 100 mL and an elution volume of 1 mL signal enhancement 100 times better than for conventional continuous aspirating systems was obtained for the elements studied. The reproducibility (RSD %) of the method at the 10 ng mL^–1 level in the eluate is acceptable – less than 8% for five replicates. Recoveries between 95.4% and 99.9% were obtained for the elements analysed. ZrO₂, with a specific surface area of 57 m² g^–1 and a capacity of approximately 5 mg g^–1 for the elements studied, was synthesized by hydrolysis of ZrCl₄. The preconcentration system was evaluated for several simple synthetic matrices, standard water samples and synthetic seawater. The effect of foreign ions on the efficiency of preconcentration of the elements studied was investigated. The application of a micro-column filled with high-surface-area ZrO₂ and flow injection inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry enables preconcentration and simultaneous determination of 18 elements at low concentrations (ng L^–1) in different water samples.     

FAAS slurry analysis of lead and copper ions preconcentrated on titanium dioxide nanoparticles coated with a silver shell and modified with cysteamine

We report on the separation and preconcentration of lead(II) and copper(II) ions using silver-coated titanium dioxide nanoparticles modified with cysteamine, and their determination by slurry analysis via flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The ions were adsorbed via a conventional batch technique, and the ion-loaded slurry was separated and directly introduced into the spectrometer, thereby eliminating a number of drawbacks. The effects of pH, amount of sorbent, slurry volume, sample volume and other ions on the recovery were investigated. Under optimized experimental conditions, copper and lead can be recovered within the 95% confidence level in certificated waste water, but also in spiked sea water samples. The technique is fast, simple, and leads to complete elution. The limit of detection (3δ, at n?=?10) was 0.37 μg L^?1 for Cu(II), and 0.38 μg L^?1 for Pb(II).

Atomic-Scale Structure of Water-Based Zirconia Xerogels by X-Ray Diffraction

The structural evolution of zirconia thin films and gel powders has been evaluated by X-ray diffraction. Maxima (r ₁ and r ₂) of the experimental radial distribution function RDF and the bond angles were determined and correlated with TGA (thermogravimetric analysis), DTA (differential thermal analysis) and MS (mass spectrometry). The results indicate that the topological short-range structure (<5 Å) of amorphous zirconia thin films, independent of drying temperature, resembles that of crystalline tetragonal ZrO₂. In contrast, amorphous zirconia powder gels dried at temperatures below 120°C show atomic arrangements similar to that of tetragonal ZrO₂. The structure of these gels annealed at temperatures between 165–340°C resembles a distorted tetragonal ZrO₂, monoclinic-like structure. Zirconia powders and films contain crystalline tetragonal ZrO₂ at 400°C.     

New strategies for trace analyses of ZrO2, SiC and Al2O3 ceramic powders

The progress possible in the analysis of refractory powders such as ZrO₂, SiC and Al₂O₃ by the use of new sample preparation, processing and introduction techniques elaborated for AAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS with low and high mass resolution is demonstrated. For optimized sample preparation techniques based on dissolution of ZrO₂, e.g. fusion with (NH₄)₂SO₄, it is shown to what extent impurities present in (NH₄)₂SO₄ determine the detection limit. Hydraulic high pressure nebulization with and without matrix removal by complexing the impurities with dithiocarbamates (Cu, Co, Cr and Ni) or oxine (Fe, Mn and Mo) and fixing them on a C₁₈ solid phase for subsequent solid phase extraction coupled with flame atomic absorption was used to determine Fe, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, Co and Mo impurities in (NH₄)₂SO₄ in the 10–100 ng/g range. Further a method to synthesize (NH₄)₂SO₄ with higher purity than some commercially available high-purity (NH₄)₂SO₄ with respect to Fe, Cu, Cr and Mn using high-purity NH₃ and chlorosulphonic acid is shown. Reliable determinations of Fe and Al at the 100 μg/g level in ZrO₂ with ICP-OES with matrix removal as well as with ICP-MS without matrix removal are reported. For the direct analysis of Al₂O₃ powders, slurry nebulization ICP-MS sample introduction is shown to improve detection limits and to reduce sample preparation, if the leachable and non-leachable fractions are analyzed separately. For powders such as SiC, the matrix or solvents can cause spectral interferences. Matrix removal is shown to be useful to improve detection limits for the interfered elements. High resolution ICP-MS can be used to control the completeness of matrix removal techniques and to overcome limitations due to spectral interferences even in case of complex materials.     

Trace analysis of ceramic surfaces by laser ionization mass spectrometry

Summary Laser ionization mass spectrometry (LIMS) is an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of concentrations of trace elements in solid samples and for the analysis of layers with thicknesses >1 m. This laser-induced surface analytical method is limited by the laser focus and crater depth of the laser system applied. Results of mass spectrometric trace analysis on a silicon carbide surface, ZrO₂ and high-T_c superconducting ceramics are discussed.     

Atomic emission and atomic absorption spectrometric analysis of high-purity powders for the production of ceramics

Summary Direct analysis methods and multistage combined analytical procedures for the determination of impurities at the g/g level and the upper ng/g level in high-purity powders of Al₂O₃, AlN, Si₃N₄ and SiC are described. Results obtained with a novel direct slurry-atomization technique using a Babington nebulizer and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) are presented. A comparison of analysis results of combined analytical procedures including wet chemical decomposition and determinations with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) or ICP-OES with those of slurry-atomization ICP-OES show the capabilities of this technique for routine analysis in production control. Detection limits for Al, B, Ca, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Si, Ti, W, V, and Zn in the matrices mentioned are between 0.03 and 2.5 g/g. For elemental concentrations 10 g/g relative standard deviations of the measurements are generally below 10%. The technique is shown to be a powerful tool for trace determinations in powder samples. This is shown by its use for analysis of a series of the ceramic powders mentioned and comparative results of other direct techniques such as total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and instrumental neutron activation analysis.

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OES und AAS von hochreinen Pulvern für die Keramikherstellung

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Herrn Prof. Dr. G. Tölg zum 60. Geburtstag von seinen Mitarbeitern gewidmet     

Determination of traces of silver in human scalp hair slurries by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and rapid method for the determination of traces of silver in human hair by slurry sampling and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry was optimized. Hair pulverization and the particle size reduction were achieved using a vibrational zirconia mill ball for 20 min. Palladium nitrate, magnesium nitrate and palladium-magnesium nitrate were investigated as chemical modifiers to thermally stabilize silver. Glycerol was used as wetting agent to stabilize the hair slurries. A limit of detection of 21.6 g kg^–1 was obtained for the use of palladium nitrate as best chemical modifier. The repeatibility of the overall procedure (slurry preparation and atomic absorption spectrometric determination) corresponding to eleven measurements was 14.3%. Matrix effect was significant and so, the standard addition method was used to determine silver in hair samples from healthy people. The levels found varied between 0.10 and 1.62 mg kg^–1.     

Preconcentration and in-situ photoreduction of trace selenium using TiO2 nanoparticles, followed by its determination by slurry photochemical vapor generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

We have developed a method for the determination of trace levels of total selenium in water samples. It integrates preconcentration, in-situ photoreduction and slurry photochemical vapor generation using TiO₂ nanoparticles, and the determination of total selenium by AFS. The Se(IV) and Se(VI) species were adsorbed on a slurry of TiO₂ nanoparticles which then were exposed to UV irradiation in the presence of formic acid to form volatile selenium species. The detection limits were improved 17-fold compared to hydride generation and 56-fold compared to photochemical vapor generation, both without any preconcentration. No significant difference was found in the limits of detection (LODs) for Se(IV) and Se(VI). The LOD is as low as 0.8 ng L^?1, the precision is better than 4.5 % (at a level of 0.1 μg L^?1 of selenium). The method gave good recoveries when applied to the determination of total selenium in a certified tissue reference material (DORM-3) and in spiked drinking water and wastewater samples containing high concentrations of transition and noble metal ions. It also excels by very low LODs, a significant enhancement of sample throughput, reduced reagent consumption and sample loss, and minimal interference by transition and noble metal ions.

Slurry sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of chromium after separation/enrichment by mercaptoundecanoic acid modified gold coated TiO2 nanoparticles

In this study, a novel preconcentration/separation technique based on the slurry analysis of chromium loaded on mercaptoundecanoic acid modified TiO₂ core-Au shell nanoparticles prior to its determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry was described. For this purpose, at first, TiO₂ nanoparticles were coated with gold shell and then modified with mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA). Cr (III) was collected on the prepared sorbent by conventional batch technique. After separation of liquid phase, slurry of the sorbent was prepared and directly introduced into graphite furnace of atomic absorption spectrometry. By this way, all drawbacks due to elution procedure were eliminated. Optimum conditions for quantitative sorption and preparation of the slurry were investigated. The chromium in certificated sea-water and spiked drinking water was recovered in the range of 95% confidence level. The proposed technique was fast and simple as well as the risks of contamination and loss during elution were low. The limit of detection (3σ, N = 10) was 0.34 μg L^{− 1}.     

Negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry of selenium part 4. Selenium trace determination in sediments and related samples

Summary Selenium traces have been determined in different sediments (estuarine, river, lake), sandy soil and sewage sludge with isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). Negative selenium atomic ions are formed in a double-filament thermal ion source. The use of a silica gel technique for ionization improves the mass spectrometric sensitivity by a factor of 40 compared with the technique previously applied. An enriched⁸²Se spike is used for the isotope dilution process. The samples are decomposed with a mixture of conc. HNO₃ and conc. HE After decomposition selenium is separated by the formation of SeH₂ in a hydride generation system which is normally applied for atomic absorption spectrometry. The IDMS results for three standard reference sediments agree well with the certified values. In the case of three other standard reference materials, which are not certified for selenium up to now, the IDMS analyses were able to improve the selenium data given for information or as indicative values. The precision of the IDMS method in the concentration range of 0.2–3.5 g/g lies between 0.8 % and 4.1 %. The detection limit is 6 ng/g. A comparison with several other methods shows that IDMS is one of the very few analytical methods which produces accurate selenium results even at concentration levels of 0.2 g/g and less in sediments and related samples of environmental interest.

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Negative Thermionen-Massenspektrometrie von Selen Teil 4. Selenspurenbestimmung in Sedimenten und vergleichbaren Proben

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. G. Tblg on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Untersuchungen zur Bestimmung von Bi, Cd, Hg, Pb und Tl in hochreinem Gallium durch Graphitrohr-AAS bei Verdampfung fester Proben

Summary Traces of Bi, Cd, Hg, Pb and Tl in the lower ·g^–1 range are determined by direct electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry in samples of about 5 mg of metallic gallium (S_r about 0.1). Electrolytically spiked samples of high-purity gallium are used for calibration. For the analysis of high-purity gallium (7–8 N) the limit of detection of Bi, Hg and Pb can be simply improved for 2–3 orders of magnitude by previous partial dissolution of larger weighed samples in acid according to [2]. The accuracy of the analytical results was verified by ICP mass spectrometry.     

Slurry sampling of sediments and coals for the determination of Sn by HG-GF AAS with retention in the graphite tube treated with Th or W as permanent modifiers

A method for the determination of Sn in slurry samples of sediment and coal by hydride generation graphite furnace electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-GF AAS) is proposed. The slurries were prepared by mixing the ground sample (particle size 50 m) with 2.0 mol L^–1 HCl for the sediment samples or with 2.0 mol L^–1 HCl+1.0% v/v HF in a saturated boric acid medium for the coal samples. The slurry was placed in an ultrasonic bath for 30 min, before and after standing for 24 h, with occasional manual stirring. The graphite tube was treated with 0.5 mg of Th or W as a permanent modifier. Sn determination was carried out by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry at the optimized retention temperatures of 450 and 300°C for Th and W treatment, respectively. With this coupling, kinetic interference in the formation of the hydrides is avoided, and excellent detection limits can be obtained by using peak height. For the chemical vapor generation device, an optimized volume of 2 mL of sample slurry and an optimized NaBH₄ concentration of 5% m/v were employed. The vapor produced was transported and retained on the graphite tube surface, which was further heated for Sn atomization. The accuracy of the method was verified by analyzing five certified sediments and three coals. By using the external calibration against aqueous standard solutions, the results obtained were in agreement with the certified values only for the sediment samples. For the coal samples, an addition calibration curve, obtained for one certified coal, was necessary to achieve accurate results. The obtained limits of detection were 0.03 g g^–1 for sediment and 0.09 g g^–1 for coal with Th as permanent modifier. The relative standard deviations were lower than 15%, demonstrating an adequate precision for slurry analysis. Sediment and coal samples from Santa Catarina, Brazil, were also analyzed.