Development of a high-resolution inductively-coupled argon plasma apparatus for derivative spectrometry and its application to the determination of hafnium in high-purity zirconium oxide

A high-resolution apparatus for inductively-coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICPES) has been developed, based on an echelle spectrometer modified for wavelength modulation with a quartz refractor plate. The selectivity of the technique is thus improved, and small amounts of hafnium in high-purity zirconium oxide can be determined directly without prior separation or preconcentration. A straight-line calibration curve passing through the origin is obtained without any correction for the interference from zirconium which exists in large excess. The detection limit for hafnium is 0.06 microg/ml, and the relative standard deviation (10 replicates) for hafnium at the 1.2 microg/ml level is about 3%.