Determination of cadmium in slurries of marine sediment samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry using palladium and phosphate as chemical modifiers

A method for the determination of cadmium in slurries of marine sediment using palladium and phosphate as chemical modifier has been optimized. To stabilize the marine sediment slurry, Triton X-100 at 0.1% was used. To obtain a complete pyrolysis of the slurry sample two mineralization steps were used, the first at 480 °C and the second at 600 °C and 700 °C for phosphate and palladium, respectively. The precision and accuracy of the method have been studied by analyzing the Reference Material PACS-1 (marine sediment) of National Research Council Canada. The detection limits (LOD) were 11.9 g kg^–1 for phosphate and 42.0 g kg^–1 when palladium was used. These methods have been applied to the determination of cadmium in marine sediment samples from the Galicia coast and the results of both methods were compared; no significant differences were found between the two procedures.     

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.     

Direct determination of arsenic in sea water by electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectrometry using D2 and Zeeman background correction

Arsenic in sea water was determined directly by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) using palladium nitrate as chemical modifier, at an optimum concentration of 15 mg l^–1. Deuterium and Zeeman effect background correction were compared and gave detection limits of 0.6 and 0.8 g l^–1, respectively. Precisions between 8 and 2%, for both correctors, were obtained with an injection volume of 40 l. The accuracy obtained with different reference materials: CRM-403 (1.461 g kg^–1), NASS-4 (1.26 ±0.09 gl^–1) and IAEA/W-4 (24–31 g l^–1) was studied for large injection volumes for both background correction systems. Interferences by chloride, sodium, potassium, calcium and silicon were removed by Zeeman correction, whereas deuterium correction was much less effective and was insufficiently accurate for sea water samples.     

Freon (CHF<Subscript>3</Subscript>)-assisted atomization for the determination of titanium using ultrasonic slurry sampling–graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (USS–GFAAS): a simple and advantageous method for solid samples

A simple and advantageous method for the determination of titanium using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with slurry sampling has been developed. Titanium is one of the refractory elements that form thermally stable carbides in the graphite tube, which leads to severe memory effects. Trifluoromethane (Freon-23) was applied in the purge gas during the atomization step or alternatively just prior to the atomization to successfully eliminate the problems of carbide formation and increase the lifetime of the furnace tube which could be used for more than 600 heating cycles. A flow rate of 40 mL min^–1 (5% of Freon in argon) was used to obtain symmetrical peaks with no tailing. However, when the gas flow rate was too high (250 mL min^–1) the peak-tailing and memory effects reappeared. Ti was determined in various materials covering a wide range of concentrations, from 2.8 g g^–1 to 12% (m/m) Ti. The accuracy of the method was confirmed by analyzing certified reference materials (CRMs) or by comparing the results with those obtained using inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES) after decomposition of the samples. The materials analyzed were soil, plant, human hair, coal, urban particulate matters, toothpaste, and powdered paint.     

Kinetic–Spectrophotometric Determination of Trace Silver(I) Using Its Catalytic Effect on the Oxidation Reaction of Fuchsin by Peroxodisulfate in the Presence of 1,10-Phenanthroline As an Activator

A kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace amounts of Ag(I) in the range of 2–20 ng mL^–1 is reported. The method is based on the catalytic effect of Ag(I) on the oxidation reaction of fuschin by potassium peroxodisulfate in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline as an activator at pH = 5. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the change in absorbance (A) at 544 nm using a fixed time method (6 min). The reaction variables were optimized in order to achieve the highest sensitivity. The 3s criterion detection limit was 0.7 ng mL^–1, and the relative standard deviation for ten replicate measurements of 16 ng mL^–1 of Ag(I) was 0.95% (n = 10). The method was successfully applied to the determination of silver in expired black and white photographic films and results showed good agreements with those obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry.     

Column preconcentration of gold by adsorbing AuCl<Stack><Subscript>4</Subscript><Superscript>−</Superscript></Stack> onto methyltrioctyl ammonium chloride–naphthalene and subsequent atomic absorption spectrometric determination

A sensitive, selective and simple preconcentration method for ultra-trace gold determination has been developed that uses naphthalene–methyltrioctyl ammonium chloride (Aliquat 336s) as an adsorbent. Gold, in the form of AuCl₄^–, was retained by the adsorbent in the column at a flow rate of 1 ml min^–1. After filtration, the solid mass consisting of the gold complex and naphthalene was dissolved out of the column with 5 ml of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and the metal was then determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. In the initial solution, the calibration graph of absorbance versus gold concentration was found to be linear in the range 0.5–150 ng ml^–1 Au(III) with r=0.997 (n =9), and the 3 s detection limit was 0.428 ng ml^–1. The relative standard deviation for eight replicate measurements of 20 g of gold was 2.14%. Preconcentration factors of 390 and 650 were achieved using 5 ml and 3 ml of DMF, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of gold in wastewater, processed pool water, slurry pool water, and raw well-water from the Moteh gold mine, and synthetic samples.     

Determination of silver in photographic material by flow-injection analysis with a coated tubular solid-state silver sulphide ion-selective electrode as detector

Summary The incorporation, behaviour and suitability of a simple and cheap home-made coated tubular solid-state silver(I)-selective electrode into the conduits of a flow-injection system is described. With 30 l samples the flow-injection flow-through electrode system covers a working range up to 5000 mg/l. The system is suitable for the determination of silver(I) in diluted plant solutions from photographic material at a sample frequency of about 80 h^–1. This procedure is also characterized by excellent reproducibility (<0.24% for 0.06–76 g/l silver in the original plant solution). The results obtained agree well with results by a standard atomic absorption spectrometric method.

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Bestimmung von Silber in photographischem Material mit Hilfe der Fließinjektionsanalyse mit einer überzogenen Feststoff-Silbersulfid-ionensensitiven Röhren-Elektrode als Detektor

     

Determination of trace elements in seawater by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with and without a preconcentration step

The determination of the trace metals Cd, Pb and Cu in seawater by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETA-AAS) has been investigated. A combination of the platform with mixed palladium nitrate-magnesium nitrate as matrix modifier and Zeeman background correction allows Cd an Pb to be determined by aqueous standard calibration in appropriately diluted seawater samples. Copper can be determined in undiluted seawater samples without chemical modification using a standard additions method. Detection limits (3) of 2.97,5.27 and 1.1 gl^–1 are obtained for Cd, Pb and Cu respectively. A Kelex-100 impregnated silica C18 material (Kelex 100-C18) has been tried and has proved to be effective as a column packing for extraction/preconcentration of these metals from seawater. Using the column extraction method, the sensitivity of the graphite furnace technique is enhanced 50-fold using a 10 l injection volume. Thus, the determination of the studied three metals in seawater at the ng.l^–1 level could be achieved.     

Formation of uniform silver particles from bis (1,2-ethanediamine)silver(I) complex

Uniform spherical silver particles were produced by decomposing the bis(1,2-ethanediamine)silver(I) complex, by aging a solution of 1.0×10^–3 mole dm^–3 in silver (I) nitrate, 1.0 mole dm^–3 in 1,2-ethanediamine, and 2.5×10^–1 mole dm^–3 in nitric acid (basic solution) at 100°C for 42 min. The average modal diameter was estimated to be 0.52 m with a relative standard deviation of 0.10. A moderately oxygenrich layer, 40 Å thick, on the surface of the particles was detected by means of photoelectron surface microanalysis (XPS). The silver particles grew through a polynuclear-layer mechanism, as judged from the concentration change in soluble silver(I) species in the supernatant solution. The particles' point of zero charge (PZC) was estimated at pH 6.5 by potentiometric titration.     

Comparative study of magnesium nitrate,palladium nitrate and reduced palladium for the direct determination of mercury in sea water by electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectrometry

A comparative study of different chemical modifiers in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for the direct determination of mercury in sea water samples, in synthetic sea water sample of high (72.8%) and low 34.2%) salinity and in aqueous solutions, was carried out. The use of reduced palladium produces better results. The mixture of palladium nitrate and ascorbic acid, gives the best limit of detection (1.9 gl^–1). The use of reduced palladium and magnesium nitrate produced excellent recoveries (close to 100%) in the whole salinity range for all mercury concentration tested. The use of palladium nitrate alone or combined with magnesium nitrate gave good recoveries with respect to a real sea water sample for low salinities. The interference from the major components of sea water were completely removed by using reduced palladium and magnesium nitrate modifiers. Thus, a single calibration curve with synthetic sea water may be applied to the analysis of sea water samples of widely differing salinities.     

Determination of226Ra and uranium in fish samples from waters of the Grand Canyon by alpha spectroscopy without electrodeposition

A previous paper reported the application of a method for determining²²⁶Ra by -spectroscopy. This paper presents important improvements which permit the determination of²²⁶Ra in the presence of large amounts of Ca. The method was applied to the analysis of²²⁶Ra and U isotopes in fish samples from the waters of the Grand Canyon.²²⁶Ra ranged from 0.05 Bq kg^–1 /1.4 pCi kg^–1/ to 0.17 Bq k^–1 /4.7 pCi kg^–1/.²³⁸U values ranged from 0.13 Bq kg^–1 /3.5 pCi kg^–1/ to 0.52 Bq kg^–1 /14 pCi kg^–1/ and²³⁴U values were between 0.23 Bq kg^–1 /6.2 pCi kg^–1/ and 12 Bq kg^–1/ /326. pCi kg^–1/.     

Chemical modifiers in arsenic determination in biological materials by tungsten coil electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Palladium, iridium, and rhodium are evaluated as possible chemical modifiers in the determination of As in digest solutions of biological materials (human hair and clam) by tungsten coil electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometry (TCA-AAS). The modifier in solution was applied onto the coil and thermally pre-reduced; the pre-reduction conditions, the amount of modifier, and the thermal program were optimized. Palladium was not satisfactory, whereas Ir and Rh were effective modifiers and rendered better relative sensitivity for As by a factor of 1.4 and 1.9, respectively compared to the case without modifier. Upon optimization of thermal conditions for As in pre-reduced Ir (2.0 µg) and Rh (2.0 µg) modifiers and in the digest solutions of the study matrices, Rh (2.0 µg) was more effective modifier and was selected as such. The mean within-day repeatability was 2.8% in consecutive measurements (25–100 µg L^–1) (3 cycles, each of n=6) and confirmed good short-term stability of the absorbance measurements. The mean reproducibility was 4.4% (n=20 in a 3-day period) and the detection limit (3 _blank/slope) was 29 pg (n=15). The useful coil lifetime in Rh modifier was extended to 300–400 firings. Validation was by determination of As in the certified reference material (CRM) of Oyster tissue solution with a percentage relative error (E _rel%) of 2% and percentage relative standard deviation (RSD%) of 3% (n=4), and by analytical recovery of As spiked in CRM of human hair [94±8% (n=4)]. The methodology is simple, fast (sample readout frequency 21 h^–1), reliable, of low cost, and was applied to the determination of As in hair samples of exposed and unexposed workers.     

Simple Method for Simultaneous Determination of Selenium and Arsenic in Human Hair by Means of Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry with Hydride Generation Technique

This study describes a simple, rapid and reliable method for simultaneous determination of selenium and arsenic in human hair by means of atomic fluorescence spectrometry combined with a hydride generation technique (HG-AFS). The procedure developed encompasses microwave digestion of a sample in the nitric acid environment only. The interferences caused by nitrous oxides are eliminated by removing a gas from above the digested solution with a stream of argon. The sample is then chemically treated in a flow-through hydride generation system and exposed to measurements in a double-channel atomic fluorescence spectrometer. The method permits determining both analytes in the linear range of 0.5–100µgL^–1 with a detection limit equal to 0.2µgL^–1, as well as with very good repeatability not exceeding 1% for Se and 2% for As. No mutual interferences from either of the analytes in the concentrations ranges matching the hair composition were found. The method was verified in terms of accuracy with the use of a reference material and then applied to the analysis of the natural samples of human hair.     

Spectrophotometric and titrimetric determination of gallium in minerals and ores using semimethylthymol blue

The composition, overall stability constant and molar absorptivity of the chelate of gallium(III) ion with semimethylthymol blue, SMTB, were determined spectrophotometrically in acetate buffer (pH 4.5–5). A violet Ga(SMTB) chelate was formed with logarithmic overall stability constant of 18.0±0.1 (I=0.1) and molar absorptivity of 4.25×10⁴l mol^–1cm^–1 (_max 580 nm). SMTB is proposed as a new reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of micro-molar amounts of gallium(III). The colour development depends on time, temperature, pH and buffer species. The interference of different cations, anions and organic acids on gallium(III) determination was also investigated. Beer's law was obeyed for 3.5–31.3 gGa(III)/25ml (0.14–1.25 g ml^–1). SMTB was used for the spectrophotometric determination of gallium in different grade minerals and ores and the results were of acceptable error and relative standard deviation. Comparison between the two suggested methods and atomic absorption spectrometry for Ga(III) determination was carried out.     

Sensitive Method for Trace Determination of Mercury in Wines Using Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

An accurate, simple and precise method for total mercury determination in wines is described. Liquid/liquid extraction of inorganic and organic mercury species directly from untreated wine samples is recommended as a preconcentration procedure prior to determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate was used as complexation agent. The optimal instrumental parameters for ETAAS measurement of mercury species extracted are proposed. The detection limit for total mercury determination is 0.2µgL^–1. The relative standard deviation is 15–22% for mercury in wine in the range of 0.2–5µgL^–1. The proposed procedure has been successfully applied to the determination of mercury in bottled wines in Bulgaria and Macedonia.     

Coulometric Determination of Trace Silver in Surfactant-Containing Solutions

The voltammetric behavior of silver in redox reactions [Ag(I) Ag(0)] on a platinum-gauze electrode was studied to select the optimum conditions for the potentiostatic coulometric determination of silver in 10^–6–10^–5 M solutions in the presence of surfactants using the oxidation of silver electrochemically predeposited on the electrode. The determination error and the relative standard deviation varied from 0.5 to 6%, depending on the concentration of silver. The inhibiting effect of surfactants on the rates of silver deposition and dissolution decreased as their concentration was decreased by the repeated dilution of the initial solution and by their removal at the sample preparation stage and as the potentials and times of silver electrodeposition and electrodissolution were changed. The mode of alternating cathodic and anodic polarization of the electrode provided the complete deposition and dissolution of silver; in this mode, silver(I) could be determined from a single portion of the solution many times. The procedure was applied to the determination of silver in drugs and cosmetic and photographic materials.     

Determination of Inorganic and Total Arsenic in Wines by Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A method is described for the determination of inorganic arsenic species and total arsenic in wines by means of hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS). Simple ethanol evaporation is the only pretreatment procedure proposed for wine samples prior to direct measurement of inorganic arsenic (AsIII) and As(V) species by HGAAS. The total arsenic content is determined after microwave digestion of the wine samples. The optimal parameters for the microwave digestion procedure and the next HGAAS measurement of arsenic are established. The detection limits achieved are 0.1µgL^–1 for inorganic and total arsenic determination. The relative standard deviation for both procedures and for ten independent determinations varied between 8 and 15% for arsenic species in the range of 1–30µgL^–1. The accuracy of the procedure for total arsenic determination was proved by comparative analysis using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry.     

Analysis of210Po in marine samples

A method for determining²¹⁰Po in marine samples by wet dissolution, deposition onto silver disc and counting by -spectrometry is described. Recovery of polonium was obtained with²⁰⁸Po tracer.²¹⁰Po levels in fish from the Brazilian coast and sediments from Antarctic region were determined. Levels in fish ranged from 0.5 to 5.3 Bq·kg^–1 wet and for sediments, mean values of 10 mBq·kg^–1 were obtained.     

The analysis of carbide and intermetallic phase γ′ isolates in nickel alloys by means of injection method of flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The determination of the chemical composition of intermetallic phase and carbide isolates is of a great importance for estimating the properties of the high-temperature nickel-base alloys. This paper presents the examination of the application of these isolates for the chemical analysis; a modernized variant of the injection technique of flame atomic absorption is described. It is based on constructing the teflon crater manifold together with a portable capillary bearing. The precision of the determination of the given elements in phase isolates was as follows: Al 3.5–4.2%, Ti 4.1–4.6%, Mo 3.8–4.2%, Co 2.5–2.8%, W 8.6–8.8%, Nb 11.2–11.6%, Cr 3.1–3.4%, Ta 10.2–10.6%.     

Determination of zinc and copper in human hair by slurry sampling employing sequential multi-element flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The present work proposes a direct method based on slurry sampling for the determination of zinc and copper in human hair samples by multi-element sequential flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The slurries were prepared by cryogenic grinding and sonication of the samples. The optimization step was performed using univariate methodology and the factors studied were: nature and concentration of the acid solution, amount sample/slurry volume, sonication time, and particle size. The established experimental conditions are the use of a sample mass of 50 mg, 2 mol L^− 1 nitric acid solution, sonication time of 20 min and slurry volume of 10 mL. Adopting the optimized conditions, this method allows the determination of zinc and copper with detection limits of 88.3 and 53.3 ng g^− 1, respectively, and precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.7% and 1.6% (both, n = 10) for contents of zinc and copper of 100.0 and 33.3 μg g^− 1, respectively. The accuracy was checked and confirmed by analysis of two certified reference materials of human hair. The procedure was applied for the determination of zinc and copper in two human hair samples. The zinc and copper contents varied from 100.0 to 175.6 and from 3.2 to 32.8 μg g^− 1, respectively. These samples were also analyzed after complete digestion in a closed system and determination by FAAS. The statistical comparison by t-test (95% confidence level) showed no significant difference between these results.