Determination of arsenic, boron, carbon, phosphorus, selenium, and silicon in natural waters by direct current plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Abstract

A direct current plasma was used to characterize the atomic emission spectrometry of arsenic, boron, carbon, phosphorus, selenium, and silicon. The atomic spectrometric measurements of these elements were evaluated with respect to detection limits, sensitivity, linear dynamic range, precision, interference effects, matrix effects, and element selectivity. In most cases, the observed detection limits and sensitivity are one or more orders of magnitude better than those achievable with other techniques. No significant interference or matrix effects exist in the presence of other chemical species, especially those which are commonly encountered in natural water and wastewaters. The direct current plasma is insensitive to the form of the element being measured, thus rendering it suitable for element-selectivity measurements. The use of direct current plasma excitation is particularly suitable not only for the trace element determination but also for element speciation studies where the concentration of an element is a function only of the chemical form in which it occurs.