Determination of traces of gold by hollow-cathode emission

The utility of a commercially available demountable hollow-cathode tube for emission spectrometric trace element analysis of solutions is demonstrated. The effects of cathode material, clean-up procedure, filler gas, and tube current were investigated to determine the conditions resulting in a satisfactory compromise between sensitivity and stability. Solutions of gold as myochrysine and as the metal dissolved in aqua regia were analyzed to show application of the commercial tube.