Peak profile characteristics and atomization mechanisms for selenium in the presence of mercury for graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary Time resolved absorbance profiles, as well as the effects of inorganic acids and mercury salts, have been studied for selenium graphite furnace atomic absorbance signals. Conventional furnace operating procedures and wall atomization were used. Absorbance profiles were found to be sensitive to the mass of the counter ion and mercury present. Negative shifts in the appearance temperature were noted for low levels of mercury salts, whilst the higher levels of mercury caused only slight increasing shifts in the appearance temperature. Peak-area absorbance increases with mercury mass, but a steady-state absorbance was reached above a certain mercury chloride concentration. If mercury is present, a thermal dissociation of a mercury selenium compound is the suggested Se atomization mechanism.