Simultaneous determination of hydride forming (As, Bi, Ge, Sb, Se, Sn) and Hg and non-hydride forming (Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Zn) elements in sonicate slurries of analytical samples by microwave induced plasma optical emission spectrometry with dual-mode sample introduction system

A slurry sampling method for the simultaneous determination of hydride forming (As, Bi, Ge, Sb, Se, Sn) and Hg and non-hydride forming (Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Zn) elements, without total sample digestion has been developed using the commercial dual-mode sample introduction system (MSIS) coupled with microwave induced plasma optical emission spectrometry (MIP-OES) from biological and environmental reference materials and real samples. The main advantage of this system is its simultaneous determination of elements that form volatile vapor species and elements that do not, without any instrumental changes. Optimization of reaction, nebulization and instrumental conditions was performed to characterize the new system. Slurry concentration up to 4% m/v (particles < 100 μm) prepared in 10% HNO₃ containing 100 μL of decanol, by application of ultrasonic agitation, was used with calibration by the standard addition technique. An ultrasonic probe was used to homogenize the slurry in the quartz cup just before its introduction into the reaction/nebulization system; the multimode sample introduction system (MSIS) combines the benefits of nebulization and vapor generation in a single device. Detection limits (LOD, 3σ_blank, peak area) of 0.07, 0.29, 0.25, 0.10, 0.12, 0.14, 0.11, 0.28, 0.42, 0.02, 0.21 and 0.34 μg g^− 1 were obtained for As, Bi, Ge, Sb, Se, Sn, Hg, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn, respectively. The relative standard deviations were ca. 10%, adequate for slurry analysis. To test the accuracy, six certified reference materials were analyzed with the analyte concentrations mostly in the μg g^− 1 level. Measured concentrations are in satisfactory agreement with certified values for the biological reference materials (LUTS-1, DOLT-2) and environmental reference materials (PACS-1, GWB 07302, NIST 2710, NBS 1633b), all adequate for slurry sampling. The method was successfully applied to the determination of the elements in real samples (coal fly ash, lake sediment, sewage). The method requires small amounts of reagents and reduces contamination and losses.