Measurement of relative atomic transition probabilities using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy

A simple and straightforward technique has been developed to measure relative atomic transition probabilities (A_ji) using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). A_ji values for Cu, Ag, Mn and Mo are calculated from absorption measurements in an air—acetylene flame using both line emission (AAL) and continuum excitation (AAC) sources. For Mn and Mo, large discrepancies for A_ji are found between AAL and AAC, which may be attributed to hyperfine structure (hfs). For continuum source measurements the absorbance is independent of the absorption line profile thus eliminating the problems associated with hfs. Therefore, AAC provides a more accurate method for relative A_ji measurements, with determinations of better than 10% relative standard deviation for all elements.