Chemical Interference Effects in the Atomic Absorption Spectrometric Determination of Lead with Premixed Inert Gas (Entrained Air)-Hydrogen Flames

Abstract

Several authors have investigated so-called cool flames as atom reservoirs in atomic absorption spectrometry; these flames are usually entrained air-hydrogen flames in which the combustible gas (hydrogen) is diluted with the argon or nitrogen of a nebulizing gas. Such low temperature flames are well known to be very prone to chemical interferences. These chemical interferences could be eliminated by using the addition technique and the solvent extraction method. The present authors have also demonstrated that the premixed inert gas(entrained air)-hydrogen flames produced with the specially designed multi-flame burner can be used as suitable atom reservoirs for the determinations of zinc, tin, bismuth, arsenic and selenium, and gallium by atomic absorption spectrometry and that the chemical interferences encountered in their determinations can be removed by the addition of a large amount of lanthanum chloride, ferric chloride, magnesium chloride, and stannous chloride as interference-releasing agents.