Improved Performance of On-line Atom Trapping in Flame Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry by Chemical Vapor Generation: Determination of Cadmium in High-Salinity Water Samples

Abstract

ABSTRACT On-line atom trapping inside a nickel flame furnace using chemical vapor generation for sample introduction was proposed for the determination of trace cadmium by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Cadmium volatile species was generated upon reaction with potassium borohydride and then flushed into a flame furnace for on-line trapping by a flow of nitrogen carrier gas. The middle part of the flame furnace, where the carrier gas impacts, is cooled by the gas flow, and this provides a fine strategy for on-line atom trapping for the purpose of preconcentration. A stainless steel plate is put on the top of the flame burner in the middle to form a flame-free zone, which also greatly lowers the temperature of the flame furnace and facilitates the atom-trapping process. Due to the introduction of chemical vapor generation, matrix effect was greatly alleviated compared with direct pneumatic nebulization for on-line atom trapping in flame furnace AAS. With trapping time of 35 s, the current approach achieved an excellent limit of detection of 20 ng L−1. The proposed method was successfully applied for the quantification of cadmium in high-salinity samples.