Investigations of reactions involved in electrothermal atomic absorption procedures: Part 9. An atomization system with controlled atmosphere and temperature for the determination of volatile elements in complex matrices

A controlled temperature controlled atmosphere atomization system is described. The sample is placed on a tungsten wire provided with temperature-controlled heating. After thermal pretreatment of the sample the wire is inserted into a hot quartz tube and rapid vaporization is accomplished by separate electrothermal heating. The pyrolysis products formed are mixed with a gas buffer and are passed through two equilibrium zones. The residence time of the analyte in the system is of the order of seconds so that the probability of attaining a state close to equilibrium is high for high temperatures. A third zone is placed perpendicularly to the others and constitutes the atomic absorption measuring cell. The usefulness of the system is illustrated for the determination of lead, bismuth, cadmium and zinc. The system provides unique possibilities in controlling interference effects in complex matrices. Examples are given for lead in concentrated chloride and sulphate solutions. Good agreement between the experimental results and high-temperature equilibrium calculations was obtained for a large variation in the composition of the gas phase.