Determination of selenium in soils by slurry-sampling graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry with polytetrafluoroethylene as silica modifier

A 6% slurry of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in 4% hydrofluoric acid and 1% nickel nitrate were used as modifiers for determination of selenium in soils by GF AAS. PTFE was used to remove silica from the soil sample, because this resulted in severe matrix effects. The temperature of fluorination, determined thermogravimetrically, was 600 °C. The yield of fluorination depends on the molar ratio of PTFE/silica, particle size, and the time and temperature of fluorination. The soil samples were pretreated with a small amount of concentrated hydrofluoric acid placed directly in the cup of autosampler. The results for the determination of selenium in the reference soil materials by means of the slurry-sampling technique and use of aqueous standards are in good agreement with the certified values. Received: 20 December 2000 / Revised: 3 April 2001 / Accepted: 5 April 2001