Automated determination of tin by hydride generation using in situ trapping on stable coatings in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Conditions have been studied for the determination of Sn by coupling of hydride generation and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Sequestering and in situ concentration of Sn hydride in the graphite furnace requires just a single application of a long-term stable trapping reagent for automated analyses. In a systematic study it is shown that effective trapping of stannane is possible on graphite tubes or platforms coated with a carbide-forming element such as Zr, Nb, Ta, or W at trapping temperatures of 500 to 600°C. Trapping temperatures should not be higher than 600°C (the “critical temperature”) because otherwise at temperatures higher than 700°C errors in absorbance values could occur by an adsorptive “carry-over effect”. Signal stability and reproducibility are tested over more than 400 complete trapping and atomization cycles, and a precision of 2% is observed. Narrow peaks are obtained for all coatings except for Nb- and Ta-coated platforms where double peaks occur. Ir- or Pd/Ir-coated surfaces allow trapping of stannane at lower temperatures but the signal stability (especially in the case of Pd/Ir coating) is lower than with the carbide-forming element coatings. The highest sensitivity is found for Zr- and W-coated tubes with a characteristic mass of about 17 and 20 pg, respectively, and the calibration curves are linear up to 2 ng Sn on Zr-treated tubes (peak height) and 4 ng on Zr-coated platforms (integrated absorbance) using the 286.3 nm line. The detection limit is 25 pg for a 1 ml sample volume, and the reagent blank is still significant with the purest available chemicals. The method is tested by determination of Sn in low alloy steel samples.     

Study on stable coatings for determination of lead by flow-injection hydride generation and in situ concentration in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Lead hydride was generated by flow-injection from 0.05 M oxalic acid sample solution by using 0.1 M HCl carrier solution and the reaction with 1.5% sodium borohydride in the presence of 2% potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) as a mild oxidizing agent. Pb was determined by in situ concentration in graphite furnace AAS. The hydride generation by flow-injection and trapping in the graphite tube coated with a highly stable trapping reagent (e.g. tungsten) allows automatic Pb determination. In a systematic investigation, the in situ concentration of Pb was studied in the temperature range 50–600° on graphite tubes coated with noble metals (Ir, Ir/Mg, Pd/Ir), and with W or Zr. The highest response was found on the Ir coatings at trapping temperatures of 200–300°, followed by the W and Zr coatings. The radiotracer ²¹⁰Pb was used to measure hydride generation (95%) and trapping efficiency (71%) on a W-coated tube. Signal stability and reproducibility was tested over 400 trapping and atomization cycles, and the better performance was found with the W and Zr coatings at a precision of 3%. Trapping temperatures above 450°C can lead to errors in absorbance values owing to an adsorptive “carry-over” effect. A characteristic mass of about 21 pg Pb for W-coated tube (283.3 nm) and a detection limit (3σ) of about 0.25 ng was obtained with a 0.5 ml sample loop. The problem with Pb hydride generation is the relatively high reagent blank (1.3 ng in 30 s trapping time) even using chemicals of the highest purity. The method has been tested by applying it to the determination of Pb in a sediment certified reference material.     

First order speciation of As using flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry with in-situ trapping of the arsine in a graphite furnace

A simple method is described to distinguish between As species that react with sodium tetrahydroborate (III) to form AsH₃ and the naturally occurring As species that are unreactive. Results for this rudimentary or “first order” speciation scheme are reported for biological tissue, aquatic plant material, urine and natural water samples. Biological tissue and aquatic plant samples were briefly solubilized in a mixture of 50% nitric acid, no sample preparation was required for the urine or natural water samples. Organoarsenic species which do not react with sodium borohydride under acidic conditions such as arsenobetaine, arsenocholine and tetramethylarsenic, are converted to As(V) by on-line photo-oxidation or microwave heating in a mixture of 0.5 M NaOH and 0.05 M K₂S₂O₈. The sample is subsequently acidified, reduced with sodium borohydride and the generated arsine is trapped in a heated graphite furnace prior to atomization. The superior detection limit (0.14 ng) of the trapping technique permits the dilution of most types of samples, minimizing or eliminating interference effects. Without photolysis or microwave heating a combined result for As(III), As(V), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) is obtained. Results are reported for the first order speciation of As in a suite of certified reference materials (CRMs) including National Research Council (NRC) biological tissues and natural water samples, Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) aquatic plant materials and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SRM 267ON urine sample. The determination of a non-hydride forming As fraction in untreated urine and natural water certified reference materials (CRMs) has revealed a species of As previously undetected in NRC seawater CRMs.     

Investigation of thallium hydride generation using in situ trapping in graphite tube by atomic absorption spectrometry

Thallium hydride was generated from aqueous solutions by merging sample and sodium tetrahydroborate reductant in a batch system. In situ preconcentration of volatile thallium hydride in a preheated graphite furnace coated with palladium, which was used as both the collection medium and atomizer, greatly improved the sensitivity for the determination of thallium by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The presence of tellurium can increase the generation efficiency of thallium hydride. The operating conditions were optimized. The calibration graph is linear up to 100 ng and the characteristic mass for thallium was 0.92 ng which is seventeen times lower than that obtained with the heated quartz tube atomizer.     

Determination of antimony in wine by hydride generation graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

 A method was developed for the determination of Sb in wine by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry, based on preconcentration by hydride generation with collection directly in the graphite furnace. Thiourea was added for prereduction of Sb(V) to Sb(III). The hydride was directly generated from diluted wine. Palladium was used as modifier in the collection step; the overall efficiency of the hydride/trapping system was found to be 67%. Sb was determined in several samples of red wine; the concentrations found were in the range 0.6 to 5.7 μg/L Sb. The detection limit of the method was 39 pg Sb, corresponding to 0.13 μg/L Sb in wine when 0.3 mL wine was analyzed. Received: 3 November 1995/Revised: 22 February 1996/Accepted: 24 February 1996     

Determination of antimony in wine by hydride generation graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

 A method was developed for the determination of Sb in wine by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry, based on preconcentration by hydride generation with collection directly in the graphite furnace. Thiourea was added for prereduction of Sb(V) to Sb(III). The hydride was directly generated from diluted wine. Palladium was used as modifier in the collection step; the overall efficiency of the hydride/trapping system was found to be 67%. Sb was determined in several samples of red wine; the concentrations found were in the range 0.6 to 5.7 μg/L Sb. The detection limit of the method was 39 pg Sb, corresponding to 0.13 μg/L Sb in wine when 0.3 mL wine was analyzed. Received: 3 November 1995/Revised: 22 February 1996/Accepted: 24 February 1996     

Ultratrace determination of tin by hydride generation in-atomizer trapping atomic absorption spectrometry

A quartz multiatomizer with its inlet arm modified to serve as a trap (trap-and-atomizer device) was employed to trap tin hydride and subsequently to volatilize collected analyte species with atomic absorption spectrometric detection. Generation, atomization and preconcentration conditions were optimized and analytical figures of merit of both on-line atomization as well as preconcentration modes were quantified. Preconcentration efficiency of 95 ± 5% was found. The detection limits reached were 0.029 and 0.14 ng mL⁻¹ Sn, respectively, for 120 s preconcentration period and on-line atomization mode without any preconcentration. The interference extent of other hydride forming elements (As, Se, Sb and Bi) on tin determination was found negligible in both modes of operation. The applicability of the developed preconcentration method was verified by Sn determination in a certified reference material as well as by analysis of real samples.     

Selenium determination using ethylation and on-line trapping/detection by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

An on-line system for the continuous ethylation of selenium (IV) in combination with trapping and detection of the produced diethylselenide in the coated AAS graphite furnace was developed. Due to the slow kinetics of the ethylation the volume of the reaction coil and the reaction time had to be increased to 5.5 mL and 80 s, respectively. The sensitivity of the method was comparable with that of the hydride generation in the same system and the relative standard deviation was 6–10%. The determination of Se(IV) in real samples after the most widely used digestion with nitric acid could not be accomplished, because of the drastic signal depression caused by this acid.     

Selenium determination using ethylation and on-line trapping/detection by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

An on-line system for the continuous ethylation of selenium (IV) in combination with trapping and detection of the produced diethylselenide in the coated AAS graphite furnace was developed. Due to the slow kinetics of the ethylation the volume of the reaction coil and the reaction time had to be increased to 5.5 mL and 80 s, respectively. The sensitivity of the method was comparable with that of the hydride generation in the same system and the relative standard deviation was 6–10%. The determination of Se(IV) in real samples after the most widely used digestion with nitric acid could not be accomplished, because of the drastic signal depression caused by this acid. Received: 10 June 1997 / Revised: 27 October 1997 / Accepted: 1 November 1997     

Investigation of ultraviolet photolysis vapor generation with in-atomizer trapping graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of mercury

Generation of mercury vapor by ultraviolet irradiation of mercury solutions in low molecular weight organic acid solutions prior to measurement by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry is a cheap, simple and green method for determination of trace concentrations of mercury. In this work mercury vapor generated by ultraviolet photolysis was trapped onto a palladium coated graphite furnace significantly improving the detection limit of the method. The system was optimized and a detection limit of 0.12 µg L^− 1 (compared to 2.1 µg L^− 1 for a previously reported system in the absence of trapping) with a precision of 11% for a 10 µg L^− 1 mercury standard (RSD, N = 5).     

Simultaneous determination of Se and As by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry with analyte concentration in a graphite furnace coated with zirconium

Conditions for the simultaneous determination of selenium and arsenic at ng l⁻¹ level were developed. Simultaneous determination of these elements was possible through the multielement capabilities of hydride generation, with in situ trapping and atomization in a graphite tube coated with zirconium and measurements using a dual channel atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The zirconium coating employed in this work was relatively stable; once formed it could stand ≈80 firings without any significant change in the efficiency of hydride collection. This appears to be an advantage over the palladium coating, which is usually formed individually before each measurement because of its thermal instability during the atomization step of the furnace temperature programme. As a result, two determinations of the two elements could be performed in 2.5 min. Under the optimized conditions, concentration detection limits of 17 and 13 ng l⁻¹ for a 7.1 ml sample volume were obtained for selenium and arsenic, respectively (absolute detection limits 120 and 92 pg for Se and As).     

Arsenic as internal standard to correct for interferences in the determination of antimony by hydride generation in situ trapping graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The feasibility of using internal standardization (IS) to correct for interferences in hydride generation with in situ trapping in graphite furnace was evaluated. Arsenic was chosen as internal standard for Sb determination and Ir was used as permanent modifier. Fluctuations in the main parameters that affect the analytical results were minimized by IS and an effective contribution was verified in the studies of liquid phase interferences. Cobalt and Ni²⁺ were selected to illustrate the potential use of IS on the correction of interference by transition metals. The application of IS allows the Sb determination in samples containing up to 20-fold higher concentration of the Co²⁺ and Ni²⁺ when compared to the procedure without IS. The relative standard deviation of measurements varied from 0.3% to 0.7% and from 1.1% to 3.2% with and without IS, respectively. Recoveries within 92% and 107% of spiked aqueous solution containing Sb(III) and Sb(V) were found.     

Electrolytic hydride generation electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry – in situ trapping of As on different pre-conditioned end-heated graphite tubes

An automated analytical system for the determination of As combining an electrolytic hydride generator and a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer has been developed. To investigate the trapping efficiency of permanent modifiers, the end-heated graphite tubes have been impregnated with Ir and mixed Pd/Ir pre-reduced modifiers, respectively, or pre-coated with Ir by electron beam evaporation under high vacuum. Furthermore, the influence of the modifier mass on the shape of the absorption signal has been studied and the performance of the modifier has been discussed. Using the pre-coated graphite tube the calculated detection limit (3s criteria ) for As was 3 pg and 15 ng/L (200 μL sample volume, two preconcentration steps) for the absolute mass and the concentration, respectively. The long-term stability of the permanent modifiers and their physical and or chemical changes during the lifetime of the tube have been observed.     

Determination of antimony in solder alloy by hydride generation followed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary Antimony was determined in solder alloy (NBS; SRM 1276) by a combination of hydride generation with reducing tube, graphite furnace atomization and atomic absorption detection. Stibines were generated in a horizontal glass tube, in which a pellet of sodium borohydride was placed. 1.2–1.3 1/min of argon flow rate, 2,300° C of atomization temperature and 1.2–2.5 M of acids concentration were the best experimental conditions. The strong supression of the antimony signal by nickel, cobalt and copper was effectively eliminated with 1,10-phenanthroline. A detection limit of 1.2 ng was obtained with a precision of 4–5%. The reducing tube used in this technique is extremely simple and can be connected to all the types of graphite furnaces. Furthermore, this technique can be used for the determination of mercury [1].

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Bestimmung von Antimon in Lotlegierung durch Hydriderzeugung mit nachfolgender Atomisierung im Graphitrohr und AAS-Detektion

Zusammenfassung Antimon wurde nach diesem Verfahren in Lotlegierung NBS (SRM 1276) bestimmt. Die Stibine wurden in einer horizontalen Glasröhre erzeugt, die gekörntes Natriumborhydrid enthielt. Der Argonfluß betrug 1, 2–1,3 l/min, die Atomisierungstemperatur 2300° C und die Konzentration an Säure 1,2–1,5 M. Die starke Unterdrückung des Sb-Signals durch Ni, Co und Cu konnte erfolgreich mit Hilfe von 1,10-Phenanthrolin verhindert werden. Die Nachweisgrenze lag bei 1,2 ng, die Präzision betrug 4–5%. Die benutzte Reduktionsröhre ist sehr einfach und kann an alle Typen von Graphitöfen angeschlossen werden. Das Verfahren läßt sich auch zur Quecksilberbestimmung [1] einsetzen.

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Paper read at the meeting of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry, October 1983     

Determination of selenium by hydride generation with reducing tube followed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary Selenium was determined in biological samples (tea and bovine liver, NBS, SRM 1577) by a combination of hydride generation with reducing tube, graphite furnace atomization and atomic absorption detection. The selenium was reduced by a pellet of sodium borohydride which was placed in a horizontal glass tube. 1.6–2.0 l/min of argon flow rate and 2400° C of atomization temperature were the best experimental conditions. Copper produces a severe effect on absorbance, even if present in only 2 times the amounts of selenium. Ion-exchange resin (Dowex 50 W-X8) was used for the separation of Cu, Ni and Co. A detection limit of 1 ng was obtained with a precision of 5–6%.

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Selenbestimmung durch Hydriderzeugung im Reduktionsrohr mit nachfolgender Graphitofen-AAS

Zusammenfassung Durch Kombination von Hydriderzeugung und Graphitofen-AAS wurde Selen in biologischen Proben (Tee, Rinderleber, NBS, SRM 1577) bestimmt. Die Reduktion erfolgte durch Natriumborhydrid in einem horizontalen Glasrohr. 1,6–2,0 l/min Argon und 2400° C Atomisierungstemperatur erwiesen sich als optimal. Kupfer übt selbst bei nur doppelter Menge einen störenden Einfluß aus. Zur Abtrennung von Cu, Ni und Co wurde ein Ionenaustauscher (Dowex 50W-X8) verwendet. Die Nachweisgrenze beträgt 1 ng bei einer Reproduzierbarkeit von 5–6%.

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Paper read at the meeting of 9th ICAS/XXII CSI, Tokyo, September 1981     

石墨炉原子吸收光谱分析中的铋原子化机理研究

石墨炉原子吸收光谱法已广泛地应用于合金[1]、矿石[2]和水[3,4]等样品中铋的测定.铋是易挥发元素,为寻找有效的化学改进剂,了解其原子化机理是很有必要的.关于机理研究已有文献报道[5,6],但加入化学改进剂后在石墨管中形成的生成物的结构及其原子化机理的研究还少见报道[7].本试验以硝酸镍、氯化钯、氯化钯-硝酸镁和氯化钯-硝酸镍为化学改进剂,通过实验确定在本实验仪器条件下测定铋的最佳化学改进剂为氯化钯.进而研究铋在化学改进剂作用下的原子化机理,以达到提高原子化效率的目的.     

Determination of As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi in milk by slurry sampling hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A simple and fast analytical procedure has been developed for the determination of As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi in milk samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). Samples were treated with aqua regia for 10 min in an ultrasound water bath and pre-reduced with KBr for total Se and Te determination or with KI and ascorbic acid for total As and Sb, the determination of Bi being possible in all with or without pre-reduction. Slurries of samples, in the presence of antifoam A, were treated with NaBH₄ in HCl medium to obtain the corresponding hydrides, and AFS measurements were processed in front of external calibrations prepared and measured in the same way as samples. Results obtained by the developed procedure compare well with those found after microwave-assisted complete digestion of samples. The proposed method is simple and fast, and only 1 ml of milk is needed. The values obtained for detection limit are 2.5, 1.6, 3, 6 and 7 ng l⁻¹ for As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi respectively in the diluted samples, with average relative standard deviation values of 3.8, 3.1, 1.9, 6.4 and 1.2% for three independent analysis of a series of commercially available samples of different origin. Data found in Spanish market samples varied from 3.2±0.3 to 11.3±0.2 ng g⁻¹ As, from 3.1±0.2 to 11.6±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Sb, from 10.7±0.5 to 25.5±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Se, from 0.9±0.2 to 9.4±0.6 ng g⁻¹ Te and from 11.5±0.1 to 27.7±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Bi.     

Detection of trace elements in pure indium by flame,Zeeman graphite furnace and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

An atomic absorption spectrometric method for the chemical characterization of very pure indium metal is described that permits the determination of 21 elements, usually present at trace levels, without matrix removal, preliminary analyte separation or concentration. For each element the detection limit obtained is reported.     

Optimization of the determination of selenium in marine samples by atomic absorption spectrometry: Comparison of a flameless graphite furnace atomic absorption system with a hydride generation atomic absorption system

A comparison has been made between a graphite furnace system based on nickel as a matrix stabilizing metal and an automated hydride generation system with a heated quartz cell. The effect of nickel as a matrix modifier was studied in pure selenite solutions as well as in biological matrixes by different charring temperatures. The suppression effect of different acids on the response of the analyte is reported and discussed. The use of an electrically heated quartz tube as an alternative to the argon hydrogen flame method unproved the selenium determination by hydride generation atomic absorption. The effect of hydrochloric acid to secure quantitative formation of selenium (IV) and the interference of copper in the response measurements have been studied. Further a comparison has been made between three different digestion procedures when the hydride generation atomic absorption system was applied. The results of the graphite furnace atomic absorption and the hydride generation atomic absorption were found to be equally accurate, but the graphite furnace technique gave better reproducibility.