Determination of impurities in magnesium niobate by slurry introduction axially viewed inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

A simple preparation scheme is described for the quantitative analysis of a magnesium niobate sample using slurry introduction axially viewed inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Relationships between the stability of slurries and the conditions, such as particle size, pH, dispersant and amount of dispersant, were investigated experimentally. The MgNb₂O₆ slurry sample was prepared by adding the dispersant sodium polyacrylate and agitation in an ultrasonic bath to ensure good dispersion. Under optimization of pH and amount of dispersant, an analysis of minor and trace impurities (Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb) in magnesium niobate was accomplished. Applying a paired t test, we showed that the results were in agreement at a 95% confidence level with the reference values obtained by a fusion method for a magnesium niobate sample, which verified that the calibration curves could be established by aqueous standards. Analytical results demonstrate that the factors that affected the accuracy of determination for MgNb₂O₆ are mainly the particle size of the sample and the stability of slurry.