Effect of six triorganotin(IV) compounds on nitrification and ammonification in soil

The effects of six triorganotin(IV) compounds and of Thiram on nitrification and ammonification in soil were investigated. Low concentrations of up to 50 μg g^?1 of the triorganotin(IV) compounds enhanced nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃^?-N) production in soil. Except for diphenylbutyltin bromide, which inhibited nitrification at 250 μg g^?1, the other triorganotin(IV) compounds were inhibitory at concentrations of 100 μg g^?1 to less than 250 μg g^?1. At 10 μg g^?1, only triphenyltin acetate was less inhibitory towards nitrification compared with Thiram. At 250 μg g^?1, Thiram exerted a strongly persistent inhibitory effect towards nitrification. The NO₃^?-N level recorded 28 days after application was only 0.10 μg g^?1 soil. With the triorganotin compounds NO₃^?-N levels of 7.05–12.06 μg g^?1 soil were recorded 28 days following their application. The deleterious effects of the triorganotin(IV) compounds were less persistent and recovery of nitrification was evident seven days after application. Low concentrations of Thiram and triorganotin(IV) compounds inhibited ammonification, whereas higher concentrations enhanced ammonification. Complete inhibition of ammonification was attained 21–28 days after application of Thiram at 50 μg g^?1. On the other hand, with the triorganotin(IV) compounds, except for diphenylbutyltin bromide at 10–50 μg g^?1, ammonification persisted at all concentrations 28 days after application.     

Entwicklung einer flieβinjectionsmethode zur bestimmung von chlorid im spurenbereich durch leitfähighkeitsdiffernzenA flow-injection method for the determination of trace amounts of chloride

The indirect determination of chloride in water is based on measurement of the difference in conductivity after the sample has passed through ion-exchange columns in the hydrogen form and silver form. The linear response range is about 0.5–10 μg g^?1 chloride (with 3 μg g^?1 nitrate and 5 μg g^?1 sulfate); the detection limit is about 50 ng g^?1 chloride but depends strongly on the concentrations of other anions.     

Determination of arsenic by hydride generation with a long absorption cell for atomic absorption spectrometry

A method is described for the determination of arsenic involving hydride generation and atomic absorption spectrometry with an improved long graphite-tube furnace capable of considerably higher temperatures than the conventional quartz-tube heaters. Arsine is generated with sodium tetrahydroborate, held in a nitrogen-cooled trap and then swept with helium into an alumina tube (19 cm long) placed within the graphite furnace. The optimum conditions for determination of arsenic are given. The detection limit is 0.2 ng ml^?1 with RSD of 2–3%. Results for various NBS Standard Reference Materials agreed well with expected values and were as follows: orchard leaves, 10 ± 1 μg g^?1; tomato leaves, 0.28 ± 0.03 μg g^?1; bovine liver, 0.046 ± 0.005 μg g^?1.     

Sensitive determination of traces of boron in waters,fertilizers na geological and biological materials by isotope-dilution mass spectrometry

A method is described for determining traces of boron in water, fertilizers, geological and biological (reference) materials by isotope-dilution mass spectrometry after separation on an Amberlite IRA-743 borate-selective ion-exchange column. Boron (–250 ng g^?1) in water can be determined with an accuracy of 5–20% (computed on a 2s basis). After correction for weighing errors and for moisture, content, which varied from 0 to 8% for the samples tested, 1–35 μg g^?1 boron in “dry” fertilizer, biological or geological sample can be assayed with an accuracy of 5–30% (2s). In an IAEA interlaboratory program on a simulated fresh water, the method yielded a value of 24.3 +? 2 μg l^?1, compared to the make-up value of 25 μg l^?1.     

Determination of hydrogen in stainless steels by spark-source mass spectrometry

A spark-source mass spectrometric (SSMS) method capable of determining traces of hydrogen in micro-volumes of metals was developed by using a pointed metal probe technique. The hydrogen background was decreased to μg g^?1 levels by the combination of a method in which the sample in the ion source is baked under vacuum at 323–343 K for more than 25 ks and a liquid nitrogen or liquid helium cryogenic pump method. This method was applied to the analysis of austenitic stainless steels at μg g^?1 hydrogen levels, and the relative standard deviation was within 20% for samples with hydrogen concentrations ranging from 2 to 4 μg g^?1. The relative sensitivity coefficent was 2.3 (Fe=1).     

Atomic absorption spectrometric determination of selenium with carbon furnace atomization

A Varian Techtron model 63 carbon rod atomizer is used for the atomic absorption spectrometric determination of nanogram quantities of selenium. The pronounced interferences from the matrices in biological digests can be obviated by isolating selenium from sample matrices by precipitation with ascorbic acid. The precision of the determination is improved by incorporating 5000 μg Ni ml^?1 in the analytical solutions. Selenium at μg g^?1 and sub-μg g^?1 levels in a variety of biological samples can be determined. The detection limit is 25 ng Se g^?1.     

The Boron and Lithium Content of South African Coals and Coal Ashes

Abstract

Boron and lithium were determined in over a hundred coals and power station ashes by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The levels of boron in coals and fly ashes range from 15 to 83 μg.g^?1 and from 23 to 600 μg.g^?1, respectively, while lithium occurred at levels of between 45 and 81μg.g^?1 in coals and 77 and 359μg.g^?1 in fly ashes. Both elements were found to vary considerably between different coals and ashes produced. In most cases the boron concentration was found to increase systematically between the first and last precipitators where smaller particle size fractions are collected. The availability of boron from the leaching of fly ashes by water was investigated. Leachabilities were found to vary for ashes produced at different power stations.     

Determination of Iodine in Cereal Grains and Standard Reference Materials by Neutron Activation Anaylsis

Abstract

Trace amounts of iodine in thirty-eight cereal grain samples cultivated at different locations in Austria were determined for the first time in this study by radiochemical neutron activation analysis. For the dissolution of cereal grain samples and standard reference materials, two different procedures, alkaline and acidic dissolution, were applied in the presence of an iodine carrier. Rapid and simple dissolution procedure with acidic solution was demonstrated in this study. The analytical values in the cereal grain as well as in the standard reference materials obtained by the different dissolution procedures were in good agreement within one standard deviation. The iodine in cereal grains and the standard reference materials ranged from 0.002 to 0.03 μg g^?-1 and 0.0015 to 0.30 μg g^?-1, respectively. The distribution of relative standard deviation (RSD) for iodine concentration below 0.01 μg g^?-1 were 21% and 24% of all data for the range 1–10% RSD and 11–20% RSD, respectively. The RSD for 0.1 μg g^?1 of iodine concentrations were around 10%     

Determination of antimony in steel by hydride generation and by electrothermal zeeman atomic absorption spectrometry

Procedures are described for the determination of antimony in steel. Samples by decomposed with a nitric/perchloric acid mixture and antimony is determined either by a.a.s. after hydride generation with sodium tetrahydroborate or by graphite-furnace a.a.s. with Zeeman background correction. Some reference steel samples were analyzed by both methods and by instrumental neutron activation. The results obtained (45–680 μg g^?1 antimony) were in very good agreement; detection limits were about 3 μg g^?1. The relative standard deviation for samples with > 50 μg g^?1 antimony was 〈 5%.     

The determination of platinum and palladium in rocks and soils by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry of extracts of their iodo complexes

The method developed for determining platinum and palladium in rocks and soils is based on extraction of iodo complexes of these elements into methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry of the extracts. The limit of detection is 10 ng g^?1 for platinum and 3 ng g^?1 for palladium. Analysis of the standard noble metal ore PTC-1 with recommended values of 12.7 μg g^?1 for palladium and 3.0 μg g^?1 for platinum gave precisions of 4.4% and 5.6%, respectively, and deviations of 5.0% and 1.2% from the recommended values. The method is applicable to the determination of both elements in a wide variety of rocks and soils.     

Headspace single-drop microextraction coupled with gas chromatography electron capture detection of butanone derivative for determination of iodine in milk powder and urine

A new detection method using headspace single-drop microextraction (HS-SDME) coupled to gas chromatography (GC) was established to determine the iodine in milk powder and urine. The derivative from the reaction between iodine and butanone in the acidic media was extracted into a micro-drop then determined by GC-ECD. With the optimisation of HS-SDME and derivatisation, the calibration curve showed good linearity within the range of 0.004–0.1 μg mL^?1 (0.004–0.1 μg g^?1) (R ² = 0.9991), and the limits of detection for milk powder and urine were 0.0018 μg g^?1 and 0.36 μg L^?1, respectively. The mean recoveries of milk powder and urine were 90.0–107 % and 89.4–101 % with mean RSD of 1.7–3.4 % and 2.7–3.3 %, respectively. This detection method affords a number of advantages, such as being simple, rapid, and inexpensive, with low organic solvent consumption, and is remarkably free from interference effects, rendering it an efficient method for the determination of iodine in milk powder and urine samples.     

A critical study on the determination of selenium in gallium arsenide by polarographic techniques

A simple voltammetric method is described for the determination of traces of selenium in gallium arsenide. Differential-pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry permits a direct determination of selenium without preliminary enrichment or separation processes. Selenium can be determined down to levels of 1–2 μg g^?1, with relative standard deviations of about 10%, in ? 100-mg samples of gallium arsenide. Results for gallium arsenide doped with 7–75 μg g^?1 selenium agree in most cases with those obtained by spectrophotometry based on 4-chloro-o-phenylenediamine.     

Determination of molybdenum in infant formula and human milk by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with barium difluoride as matrix modifier

A method for the determination of molybdenum in infant formula and human milk by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry was developed and optimized. Samples were injected directly in the graphite tube with barium difluoride as the matrix modifier. The detection limit was 0.89 μg Mo l^?1. The molybdenum levels found in infant formula and human milk were 0.09–2.23 μg Mo g^?1 and 2.32–8.38 μg Mo l^?1, respectively.     

Atomic absorption spectrometric determination of copper in calcium carbonate scale and carbonate rocks by direct atomization of solid samples

Powdered samples (1 mg) are mixed with 1 mg of powdered graphite and copper is determined by atomic absorption spectrometry in a miniature graphite cup placed in a graphite crucible. Optimum conditions were drying at 200 °C (30 s), ashing at 900 °C (30 s), atomizing at 2700 °C (15 s) and cleaning at 2800 °C (10 s). Samples were powdered to 1–10 μm particle size. Magnesium, manganese and iron did not interfere. The effect of calcium carbonate was eliminated by the graphite addition. Results for copper (0.5–5 μg g^?1) in the scale and rocks agreed well with values obtained for dissolved samples. Relative standard deviations (n=10) were 4.9% for 1.2 μg g^?1 copper and 14.8% for 0.577 μg g^?1.     

Determination of arsenic in steel and cast iron by hydride-generation atomic absorption spectrometry

A procedure is described for the determination of arsenic in steel and cast iron by atomic absorption spectrometry after hydride generation with sodium tetrahydroborate. The samples are decomposed with a nitric/perchloric acid mixture. The data are evaluated directly against acidic standard solutions of arsenic(V). The limit of detection is about 1 μg g^?1 and the precision is better than 4% for concentrations exceeding 10 μg g^?1.     

Determination of calcium and barium in steel by electrothermal atomic emission spectrometry

A simple and rapid method is described for the determination of 1–40 μg g^?1 calcium in steels by electrothermal atomic emission spectrometry. The sample is dissolved in nitric acid and does not need preconcentration. The use of a recessed platform is shown to improve reproducibility and sensitivity in the determination of calcium. A similar procedure for the determination of barium (< 1 μg g^?1 in steel is described.     

Determination of total tin in silicate rocks by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A method is described for the determination of total tin in silicate rocks utilizing a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer with a stabilized-temperature platform furnace and Zeeman-effect background correction. The sample is decomposed by lithium metaborate fusion (3 + 1) in graphite crucibles with the melt being dissolved in 7.5% hydrochloric acid. Tin extractions (4 + 1 or 8 + 1) are executed on portions of the acid solutions using a 4% solution of trioctylphosphine oxide in methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK). Ascorbic acid is added as a reducing agent prior to extraction. A solution of diammonium hydrogenphosphate and magnesium nitrate is used as a matrix modifier in the graphite furnace determination. The limit of detection is > 10 pg, equivalent to > 1 μg l^?1 of tin in the MIBK solution or 0.2–0.3 μg g^?1 in the rock. The concentration range is linear between 2.5 and 500 μg l^?1 tin in solution. The precision, measured as relative standard deviation, is < 20% at the 2.5 μg l^?1 level and < 7% at the 10–30 μg l^?1 level of tin. Excellent agreement with recommended literature values was found when the method was applied to the international silicate rock standards BCR-1, PCC-1, GSP-1, AGV-1, STM-1, JGb-1 and Mica-Fe. Application was made to the determination of tin in geological core samples with total tin concentrations of the order of 1 μg g^?1 or less.     

An Elemental Phosphorus Photocatalyst with a Record High Hydrogen Evolution Efficiency

Semiconductive property of elementary substance is an interesting and attractive phenomenon. We obtain a breakthrough that fibrous phase red phosphorus, a recent discovered modification of red phosphorus by Ruck et al., can work as a semiconductor photocatalyst for visible‐light‐driven hydrogen (H₂) evolution. Small sized fibrous phosphorus is obtained by 1) loading it on photoinactive SiO₂ fibers or by 2) smashing it ultrasonically. They display the steady hydrogen evolution rates of 633 μmol h^?1 g^?1 and 684 μmol h^?1 g^?1, respectively. These values are much higher than previous amorphous P (0.6 μmol h^?1 g^?1) and Hittorf P (1.6 μmol h^?1 g^?1). Moreover, they are the highest records in the family of elemental photocatalysts to date. This discovery is helpful for further understanding the semiconductive property of elementary substance. It is also favorable for the development of elemental photocatalysts.     

Determination of indium in minerals,river sediments and coal fly ash by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with palladium as a matrix modifier

A method is described for the determination of indium (10–40 μg g^?1) in lead-zinc ores and magnetic pyrites. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is used with palladium as a matrix modifier. Indium (down to 0.085 μg g^?1) in river sediments and coal fly ash can be determined after pre-extraction with ammonium iodide into 4-methyl-2-pentanone. In the presence of palladium, the maximum tolerable ashing temperatures for indium in aqueous solution or organic extract can be raised to 1200°C or 1000°C, respectively, and the sensitivity is greatly improved.     

Determining of trace metals in nuclear-grade uranium dioxide by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry

A method is described for the simultaneous determination of low concentration of Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Ni in nuclear-grade uranium dioxide by x-ray fluroescence spectrometry, without the use of chemical treatment. The lower limits of detection range from 2 μg g^?1 for nickel and manganese to 5 μg g^?1 for copper. Samples are prepared in the form of double-layer pellets with boric acid as a binding agent. Standards are prepared in a U₃O₈ matrix, which is more chemically stable than UO₂ and has similar matrix behaviour. The correlation coefficients for calibration curves are better than 0.999. Errors range from 2.4% for chromium to 6.8% for nickel.