The Determination of Beryllium in Several Alloys by Means of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry

Abstract

Abstract The atomic absorption spectrophotometric determination of beryllium in aqueous solutions and the effect of some water-miscible organic solvents were studied in a nitrous oxide-acetylene flame, using a Perkin-Elmer Model 303 atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The beryllium atomic absorptions were measured at the 234.9-nm resonance line of beryllium. The sensitivity for beryllium was 0.03 ppm for a 1% absorption. With the exception of palladium and silicon, none of the elements interfered with the determination of beryllium. Phosphoric acid caused an enhancement, while hydrochloric and nitric acids had a slight depressing effect. Furthermore, there seems to be a tendency for organic solvents with a higher ratio of the number of carbon atoms to that of oxygen atoms to cause greater enhancements in beryllium absorption, though there are a good number of exceptions. The atomic absorption method was applied to the determination of beryllium in several aluminum-, copper-, and magnesium-base alloys, with satisfactory results.