Direct determination of trace rare earth elements in high purity Y2O3 using fluorination assisted electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry with slurry sampling

A new method for the determination of trace amounts of 14 rare earth elements in high purity Y₂O₃ using fluorination assisted electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry with slurry sampling was developed. A polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) emulsion was used as a fluorinating reagent to promote the vaporization of the analytes from graphite furnace. The main factors affecting analytical signals were investigated systematically. The interference of matrix could be minimized in the presence of PTFE. Under optimum conditions, the detection limits for rare earth elements were 0.032 ng～2.52 ng and the relative standard deviations were in the range of 1.4% to 4.3%. The proposed method was applied to the direct analysis of high purity Y₂O₃ powder with satisfactory results.