Glassy carbon tubes for electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary The use of glassy carbon as a tube material in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry requires modifications to the power supply if temperatures and heating rates comparable to those for graphite tubes are to be obtained. Glassy carbon tubes frequently have a longer lifetime than pyrolytic graphite coated tubes made of polycrystalline electrographite. Peak height sensitivity for glassy carbon is better by a factor of two for some volatile elements, but up to a factor of five inferior for less volatile elements than that for pyrolytic graphite coated tubes. Peak area sensitivity is generally inferior by about a factor of two. Sample volume is limited to 5–10 l because of the smooth surface.From the signal shape it can be deduced that adsorption of analyte atoms at the tube wall plays an important role in glassy carbon, and is responsible at least in part for the lower sensitivity. Non-spectral interferences can be less pronounced in glassy carbon tubes for those interferents which interact with graphite tube surfaces. Glassy carbon is, however, no alternative to pyrolytic graphite coated tubes.

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Glasartiger Kohlenstoff als Rohrmaterial für elektrothermische Atomabsorptionsspektrometrie