Flow Injection Analysis of Mercury/Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrophotometry

Abstract

A new flow injection system for the determination of mercury by the cold vapor atomic fluorescence method is described. A sample solution (64 μ1) is injected into a stream of 0.1 M hydrochloric acid, which is mixed with a stream of 3% tin (II) chloride solution in a mixing joint. The combined stream is carried through a reaction coil for reduction of Hg (II) to Hg (0) and subsequently introduced into a specially designed gas-liquid separation vessel. Then the vaporized mercury is swept into a flow type fluorescence cell with a continuous flow of argon after removal of water in the gas phase through a condenser. Mercury is excited with an electrodeless discharge lamp as a source and the mercury fluorescence at both 184.9 and 253.7 nm is measured with a solar-blind photomultiplier. This method allows about 35 determinations of mercury in aqueous samples per hour. The calibration curve is linear over the 0–20 ppb range of mercury. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) is 0.008 ng (0.12 ppb × 64 μ1) and the coefficient of variation is below 1% for the 1–20 ppb solutions (n=10).     

Mercury speciation in sea food by flow injection cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry using selective solid phase extraction

An on-line inorganic and organomercury species separation, preconcentration and determination system consisting of cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS or CV-ETAAS) coupled to a flow injection (FI) method was studied. The inorganic mercury species was retained on a column (i.d., 3 mm; length 3 cm) packed to a height of 0.7 cm with a chelating resin aminopropyl-controlled pore glass (550 A) functionalized with [1,5-bis (2 pyridyl)-3-sulphophenyl methylene thiocarbonohydrazyde] placed in the injection valve of a simple flow manifold. Methylmercury is not directly determined. Previous oxidation of the organomercurial species permitted the determination of total mercury. The separation of mercury species was obtained by the selective retention of inorganic mercury on the chelating resin. The difference between total and inorganic mercury determined the organomercury content in the sample. The inorganic mercury was removed on-line from the microcolumn with 6% (m/v) thiourea. The mercury cold vapor generation was performed on-line with 0.2% (m/v) sodium tethrahydroborate and 0.05% (m/v) sodium hydroxide as reducing solution. The determination was performed using CV-AAS and CV-ETAAS, both approaches have been used and compared for the speciation of mercury in sea food. A detection limit of 10 and 6 ng l(-1) was achieved for CV-AAS and CV-ETAAS, respectively. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 1 microg l(-1) Hg level was 3.5% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.), calculated from the peak heights obtained. Both approaches were validated with the use of two certified reference materials and by spiking experiments. By analyzing the two biological certified materials, it was evident that the difference between the total mercury and inorganic mercury corresponds to methylmercury. The concentrations obtained by both techniques were in agreement with the certified values or with differences of the certified values for total Hg(2+) and CH(3)Hg(+), according to the t-test for a 95% confidence level. It is amazing how this very simple method is able to provide very important information on mercury speciation.     

Determination of mercury in mineral coal using cold vapor generation directly from slurries,trapping in a graphite tube,and electrothermal atomization

A rugged and reliable method for the determination of mercury in coal without sample digestion, based on chemical vapor generation (cold vapor technique) from slurried coal samples has been developed. It involves collection of the mercury vapor in a graphite tube, treated with gold or rhodium as permanent modifier, and determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Mercury quantitatively leached out of the investigated coal reference materials into 1 mol l⁻¹ nitric acid within 48 h when the coal was ground to a particle size of ≤50 μm, except for one sample (BCR 180), which had to be ground to ≤30 μm, or a leaching time of 72 h had to be used. No detectable quantity of mercury was generated directly from the slurry particles, but it was not necessary to filter the solution. The greatest advantage of the method is that only a minimum of reagents and sample handling steps are required, a prerequisite for accurate results in routine analysis. The results were well within the 95% confidence level of the certificate or close to the information value of the reference materials investigated. The characteristic mass of 110 pg obtained with gold as the permanent modifier is close to values reported for direct analysis of solutions, showing close to 100% trapping efficiency for mercury. A limit of detection (LOD) of 90 pg absolute was obtained with this modifier, which corresponds to an LOD of 0.009 μg g⁻¹ Hg in coal. This is based on 1 ml of slurry containing 10 mg of coal, and is an order of magnitude lower than the lowest mercury content in the investigated reference materials.     

An Instrumental Correction for the Determination of Mercury in Biological and Sediment Samples Using Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry

Low recovery rate and inconsistent measurements were found in the determination of mercury by method of cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry using the hydride formation system (Hitachi HFS-2, Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo). To overcome this problem of insufficient reaction time we developed a simple T-joint device attaching to the commercial HFS-2 system for the determination of mercury in various biological tissues and sediment samples. The T-joint device was designed to combine sample and reductant injection which increased the reaction time of the sample allowing a complete formation of mercury vapor and speeding up the analysis process in comparison to the traditional cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometric method. Recoveries of mercury were in the range 95% - 100%. The corrected procedure gave precise and accurate readings with several certified reference materials: NIES No. 2 from the Japan Environment Agency; IAEA-356 from the International Atomic Energy Association, and DOLT-2, DORM-2, TORT-2, PACS-1 and MESS-2 from the National Research Council of Canada. Simple acid digestion methods were developed based on the sample Hg level and the nature of the sample. The sample detection limits were 0.0125 μg g⁻¹ fresh weight and 0.0625 μg g⁻¹ dry weight for biological samples, and as low as 0.0125 μg g⁻¹ dry weight for sediment samples. These analytical protocols we established met the general requirements in environmental research and monitoring of mercury pollution.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic,mercury, antimony and selenium in biological materials with prior collection of gaseous products followed by neutron activation analysis

A method combining prior collection of gaseous products with subsequent neutron activation analysis has been developed for simultaneous determination of traces of arsenic, mercury, antimony and selenium in biological materials. The generation of hydrides of arsenic, antimony and selenium and cold vapor of mercury in the vapor generaion and collection system was investigated by the use of radiotracers of the respective elements. The result indicates that selenium and mercury can be completely evaporated from the digested sample solution in 5M HCl with the addition of 5% sodium tetrahydroborate solution, while additional reduction proces by potassium iodide and ascorbic acid is needed for complete evaporation of arsenic and antimony. The gaseous products were collected in a quartz tube for neutron irradiation. The detection limits of these elements were fount to be in the range of 10^–7 to 10^–8 g under the present experimental conditions. The reliability was checked with NBS standard reference materials.     

固体进样一直接测汞仪法测定金精矿粉中微量汞

将金精矿粉样品直接置于石英舟中,在高纯氧气氛中燃烧,释放出汞,与齐化管中的金形成金汞齐,于900℃热释放出汞蒸汽,用直接测汞仪法测定汞的含量。测定结果的相对标准偏差为0．28％～1．57％（n=6）,方法检出限为1．0pg／kg,加标回收率为95．7％～117．4％。用该法对4种土壤标准样品进行了测定,测定结果与标准值相符。该方法适合于金精矿粉中微量汞的测定。     

Determination of mercury in carbon black by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry

Recently, a new color additive, D&C Black No. 2, a high-purity furnace black in the general category of carbon blacks, was listed as a color subject to batch certification by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A simple procedure was developed to determine mercury (Hg) in D&C Black No. 2, which is limited by specification to not more than 1 ppm Hg. The method uses partial acid digestion followed by cold vapor atomic absorption and was developed by modifying a method used for other color additives. The carbon black samples are treated with a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids and heated by microwave in sealed Teflon vessels. The resulting solutions, which are stable to Hg loss for at least 1 week, are diluted and analyzed for Hg using cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. Validation was performed by spiking carbon black samples with inorganic Hg (HgNO3) at levels from 0.1 to 1.5 microg/g, and by analyzing 2 standard reference materials. At the specification level of 1 ppm Hg (1 microg Hg/g), the 95% confidence interval was +/-0.01 ppm Hg (0.01 microg Hg/g). The method developed in this study gave good results for very difficult-to-analyze materials, such as coal standard reference materials and carbon black. By eliminating volatility and adsorption factors through the formation of HgCl4(-2) complexes, one can avoid using extremely hazardous acids such as HF and HClO4.     

An Improved Method for the Determination of Bismuth in Geological Materials by Automated Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Abstract

An improved, automated method for the determination of bismuth in geological materials at the sub-microgram per gram level is described. After a closed-vessel digestion using nitric, hydrochloric, and hydrochloric, and hydrofluoric acids and evaporation twice with perchloric acid, a hydrochloric acid solution of the sample is automatically mixed with masking and reducing agents, further acidified with hydrochloric acid, and finally reacted with sodium borohydride to form bismuthine (BiH₂). The bismuthine is then separated from the analytical stream using a modified phase separator and then decomposed in a quartz tube furnace positioned in the path of an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Bismuth quantification is done using aqueous calibration standards and peak height measurements. Interferences are minimized, therefore allowing the analysis of most geological materials without the method of standard additions. The relative standard deviation of the digestion and instrumental procedure is 2.0% at 50 μg Bi/L. The reagent blank is 0.2 μg Bi/L. Results for 32 standard reference materials are presented, 14 of which do not have published B1 values.     

On-line microwave sample pretreatment for the determination of mercury in blood by flow injection cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry

A method for on-line treatment of whole blood in a microwave oven and determination of mercury by flow injection cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry was developed. After dilution of the whole blood and addition of oxidant, all further treatment and measurement were performed automatically, on-line. Recoveries of five mercury compounds were complete. Good agreement between measured and recommended values of mercury in whole blood reference materials was obtained. Measured mercury values also agreed with results from other accepted methods. Sample throughput was about 45 measurements/hr. Detection limit (3s) in diluted sample was 0.1 μg/l corresponding to 1μg/l Hg in whole blood. The RSD value at 0.5 μg/l Hg in the diluted sample was 6–7% (11 measurements and 0.5 ml sample volume). Mercury concentrations between 1 and 150 μg/l in whole blood can be measured using this method. For three replicate measurements, 0.5 ml of whole blood is required.     

Organic,inorganic and total mercury determination in fish by chemical vapor generation with collection on a gold gauze and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A method for organic, inorganic and total mercury determination in fish tissue has been developed using chemical vapor generation and collection of mercury vapor on a gold gauze inside a graphite tube and further atomization by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. After drying and cryogenic grinding, potassium bromide and hydrochloric acid solution (1 mol L^− 1 KBr in 6 mol L^− 1 HCl) was added to the samples. After centrifugation, total mercury was determined in the supernatant. Organomercury compounds were selectively extracted from KBr solution using chloroform and the resultant solution was back extracted with 1% m/v L-cysteine. This solution was used for organic Hg determination. Inorganic Hg remaining in KBr solution was directly determined by chemical vapor generation electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Mercury vapor generation from extracts was performed using 1 mol L^− 1 HCl and 2.5% m/v NaBH₄ solutions and a batch chemical vapor generation system. Mercury vapor was collected on the gold gauze heated resistively at 80 °C and the atomization temperature was set at 650 °C. The selectivity of extraction was evaluated using liquid chromatography coupled to chemical vapor generation and determination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The proposed method was applied for mercury analysis in shark, croaker and tuna fish tissues. Certified reference materials were used to check accuracy and the agreement was better than 95%. The characteristic mass was 60 pg and method limits of detection were 5, 1 and 1 ng g^− 1 for organic, inorganic and total mercury, respectively. With the proposed method it was possible to analyze up to 2, 2 and 6 samples per hour for organic, inorganic and total Hg determination, respectively.     

An evaluation of analytical techniques for determination of lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury in food-packaging materials

Closed microwave digestion and a high-pressure asher have been evaluated for wet-oxidation and extraction of lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury from a range of typical packaging materials used for food products. For the high-pressure asher a combination of nitric and sulfuric acids was efficient for destruction of a range of packaging materials; for polystyrene, however, nitric acid alone was more efficient. For microwave digestion, a reagent containing nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and hydrogen peroxide was used for all materials except polystyrene. Use of the high-pressure asher resulted in the highest recoveries of spiked lead (median 92%), cadmium (median 92%), chromium (median 97%), and mercury (median 83%). All samples were spiked before digestion with 40 μg L^–1 Cd, Cr, and Pb and 8 μg L^–1 Hg in solution. The use of indium as internal standard improved the accuracy of results from both ICP–MS and ICP–AES. Average recovery of the four elements from spiked packaging materials was 92 ± 14% by ICP–MS and 87 ± 15% (except for mercury) by ICP– AES. For mercury analysis by CVAAS, use of tin(II) chloride as reducing agent resulted in considerably better accuracy than use of sodium borohydride reagent.     

固体进样-冷原子吸收法测定食用明胶中的微量汞

样品直接置于石英舟中,在高纯氧气氛中燃烧,释放出的汞与齐化管中的金形成金汞齐,于900℃加热释放出汞蒸气,用冷原子吸收法测定汞的含量。方法的检出限为0.003 ng,测定结果的相对标准偏差为1.13%(n=6),加标回收率为90.5%~97.0%,并用标准样品对方法进行了确证。该方法具有良好的精密度与准确度,适用于明胶中微量汞的测定。     

Ultra-trace arsenic and mercury speciation and determination in blood samples by ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with flow injection-hydride generation/cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy

A simple, fast, and sensitive method for speciation and determination of As (III, V) and Hg (II, R) in human blood samples based on ionic liquid-dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (IL-DLLME) and flow injection hydride generation/cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (FI-HG/CV-AAS) has been developed. Tetraethylthiuram disulfide, mixed ionic liquids (hydrophobic and hydrophilic ILs) and acetone were used in the DLLME step as the chelating agent, extraction and dispersive solvents, respectively. Using a microwave assisted-UV system, organic mercury (R-Hg) was converted to Hg(II) and total mercury amount was measured in blood samples by the presented method. Total arsenic content was determined by reducing As(V) to As(III) with potassium iodide and ascorbic acid in a hydrochloric acid solution. Finally, As(V) and R-Hg were determined by mathematically subtracting the As(III) and Hg(II) content from the total arsenic and mercury, respectively. Under optimum conditions, linear range and detection limit (3σ) of 0.1–5.0 µg L^?1 and 0.02 µg L^?1 for As(III) and 0.15–8.50 µg L^?1 and 0.03 µg L^?1 for Hg(II) were achieved, respectively, at low RSD values of < 4% (N = 10). The developed method was successfully applied to determine the ultra-trace amounts of arsenic and mercury species in blood samples; the validation of the method was performed using standard reference materials.     

A colorimetric sensor array for detection of triacetone triperoxide vapor

Triacetone triperoxide (TATP), one of the most dangerous primary explosives, has emerged as an explosive of choice for terrorists in recent years. Owing to the lack of UV absorbance, fluorescence, or facile ionization, TATP is extremely difficult to detect directly. Techniques that are able to detect generally require expensive instrumentation, need extensive sample preparation, or cannot detect TATP in the gas phase. Here we report a simple and highly sensitive colorimetric sensor for the detection of TATP vapor with semiquantitative analysis from 50 ppb to 10 ppm. By using a solid acid catalyst to pretreat a gas stream, we have discovered that a colorimetric sensor array of redox sensitive dyes can detect even very low levels of TATP vapor from its acid decomposition products (e.g., H(2)O(2)) with limits of detection (LOD) below 2 ppb (i.e., <0.02% of its saturation vapor pressure). Common potential interferences (e.g., humidity, personal hygiene products, perfume, laundry supplies, volatile organic compounds, etc.) do not generate an array response, and the array can also differentiate TATP from other chemical oxidants (e.g., hydrogen peroxide, bleach, tert-butylhydroperoxide, peracetic acid).     

气相色谱仪和测汞仪联机测定人发中的甲基汞

本文在前报^[1]工作基础上,将气相色谱仪和测汞仪联机测定有机汞的方法,用于人发中甲基汞的测定。根据Birke等人报导^[2],人发和血液中只查到甲基汞,未查到乙基汞和更高级的烷基汞;同时本工作所用的人发试样,经白求恩医科大学环境医学研究室分析,除甲基汞外未查到乙基汞。因此本法测得的总有机汞能代表甲基汞。目前尚未见到类似方法的报导。     

Photo-induced cold vapor generation with low molecular weight alcohol, aldehyde, or carboxylic acid for atomic fluorescence spectrometric determination of mercury

With UV irradiation, Hg²⁺ in aqueous solution can be converted into Hg⁰ cold vapor by low molecular weight alcohols, aldehydes, or carboxylic acids, e.g., methanol, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, glycol, 1,2-propanediol, glycerol, acetic acid, oxalic acid, or malonic acid. It was found that the presence of nano-TiO₂ more or less improved the efficiency of the photo-induced chemical/cold vapor generation (photo-CVG) with most of the organic reductants. The nano-TiO₂-enhanced photo-CVG systems can be coupled to various analytical atomic spectrometric techniques for the determination of ultratrace mercury. In this work, we evaluated the application of this method to the atomic fluorescence spectrometric (AFS) determination of mercury in cold vapor mode. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the instrumental limits of detection (based on three times the standard deviation of 11 measurements of a blank solution) were around 0.02–0.04 μg L⁻¹, with linear dynamic ranges up to 15 μg L⁻¹. The interference of transition metals and the mechanism of the photo-CVG are briefly discussed. Real sample analysis using the photo-CVG-AFS method revealed that it was promising for water and geological analysis of ultralow levels of mercury. Image of the photo-CVG instrumentation showing the photoreactor inside the water cooling unit     

A highly sensitive method for the determination of mercury using vapor generation gold wire microextraction and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The study introduces a new simple and highly sensitive method for headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of mercury. In the proposed method, a gold wire, mounted in the headspace of a sample solution in a sealed bottle, is used for collection of mercury vapor generated by addition of sodium tetrahydroborate. The gold wire is then simply inserted in the sample introduction hole of a graphite furnace of an electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry instrument. By applying an atomization temperature of 600 °C, mercury is rapidly desorbed from the wire and determined with high sensitivity.     

Indirect determination of submicrogram amounts of sulfide by flameless atomic absorption spectrometry of mercury

Summary A rapid and simple method to determineg and sub-g amounts of sulfide has been developed. It involves the addition of a known amount of mercury(II) to the sample solution, formation of stable HgS, and determination of the residual mercury(II) in the solution by flameless atomic absorption spectrometry. The proposed method allows sulfide to be determined down to 0.2 ppb with a relative standard deviation of less than 2%.

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Zusammenfassung Ein schnelles und einfaches Verfahren zur Bestimmung von Mikrogramm und Submikrogrammengen Sulfid wurde ausgearbeitet. Es beruht auf der Zugabe einer bekannten Menge Hg(II) zur Probelösung, der Bildung von beständigem HgS und der Bestimmung des restlichen Hg(II) durch flammenlose Atomarabsorptionsspektrometrie. Die vorgeschlagene Methode erlaubt die Bestimmung von mindestens 0,2 ppb Sulfid mit einer relativen Standardabweichung von weniger als 2%.

     

Elimination of sulfide interference by sodium hypochlorite solution in the cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometric determination of mercury using tin(II) reduction in alkaline medium

An addition of sodium hypochlorite solution effectively eliminated the interference by sulfide in the cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometric determination of mercury using tin(II) reduction in alkaline medium. Mercury ranging from 0.01 to 0.5 μg could be determined within ±10% error in 100 mL of sample solution containing 10 mg of sulfide by the addition of 1 mL of 10.4%(w/v) sodium hypochlorite solution. The proposed method is rapid (5 min per determination) and has good reproducibility (3.0%).     

Determination of total mercury and methylmercury in human hair by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry using 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate as a complexing agent.

For the determination of total mercury in hair, an amount (25.0 mg) of hair sample was digested with conc. HNO3 (400 microl) at 90 degrees C for 10 min in a 7-ml teflon microreaction vessel. After digestion, the pH of the acidic hair mixture was adjusted to 5.0-6.0 by NaOH and was then passed through a clean-up Sep-Pak C18 cartridge. To the eluate, 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate (DMPS) and sodium acetate buffer (pH = 6.0) were added to form a mercury-DMPS complex. This complex was preconcentrated on two Sep-Pak C18 cartridges in series, and each cartridge was eluted with methanol and adjusted to 2.00 ml. A portion (50 microl) was introduced into a graphite cuvette and then atomized according to a temperature program. The method detection limit (MDL, 3sigma) was 0.064 (microg g(-1)); the calibration graph was linear up to 7.52 microg g(-1). Good accuracies were obtained when testing two human hair certified reference materials (GBW 09101 and BCR-397). Six real samples were analyzed, and the recoveries were 95.8 - 98.2% with a relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 3) < 2.1%. For the determination of methylmercury (CH3Hg+), 25.0 mg of hair sample was extracted with 2.0 mol dm(-3) HCl (1.0 ml) by ultrasonicating for 1 h. The supernatant solution was used for CH3Hg+ analysis and the hair residue was used for the analysis of inorganic mercury (Hg2+). The MDL of CH3Hg+ was 0.068 microg g(-1); the calibration graph was linear up to 6.00 microg g(-1). Six real samples were analyzed, and the recoveries were 96.0-99.2% with RSD (n = 3) < 2.3%. The sum of the concentrations of CH3Hg+ and Hg2+ was very close to that of the total mercury measured with a relative error within 3.6%. The proposed method can be accurately applied to the measurement of CH3Hg+, Hg2+, and total mercury in hair samples.