Air-argon inductively coupled plasma for organic solution analysis: spectral characteristics and analytical performances

Abstract

A low power air-argon inductively coupled plasma (ICP) obtained on a commercial 40.68 MHz ICP spectrometer has been used for organic solution analysis. Spectroscopic studies show that in air-argon ICP, the molecular bands from hydrocarbons of organic samples such as CN and C 2 are largely depressed or even eliminated. The effects of operating conditions such as air ratio and ICP power on the signal-to-background ratio of atomic and ionic lines for organic solution in air-argon ICP are similar to those for aqueous solution. Detection limits for some elements in methyl-isobutyl ketone (MIBK) solution have also been measured and compared with those obtained by argon ICP. For most atomic lines and some ionic lines, the detection limits in air-argon ICP are better than those in pure argon ICP. A 50% air-argon ICP has been applied to the determination of metallic elements in waste oil diluted with xylene and in nickel naphthenate diluted with MIBK. The analytical results are satisfactory.