Determination of As(III) and total inorganic arsenic by on-line pretreatment in hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary A method for the on-line prereduction of As(V) was developed in order to determine As(III) and As(V) with the same sensitivity by continuous flow hydride generation. In this procedure, the sample is continuously mixed with concentrated hydrochloric acid and a potassium iodideascorbic acid solution, flows through a heated PTFE-tube and is determined by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry in a heated quartz cell. The selective analysis of As(III) is carried out by continuous mixing of the sample with acetic acid and hydride generation. The method allows the rapid determination of inorganic arsenic species at concentrations down to 1 g/l. A manual sample preparation is not required.