Trace element determination by capacitive discharge atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

Conventional instrumental analytical techniques require careful calibration of the instrument with chemically analysed standards or synthetic standards of known composition. When analyses of miscellaneous materials are required, providing the required range of standards becomes impossible. As a way to an absolute method of atomic absorption analysis, L'vov1 suggested using a capacitive bank as a source of electrothermal energy for heating graphite atomizers. We describe here a new analytical technique which uses a capacitor bank for electrothermal heating of an anisotropic pyrolytic tube atomizer in atomic absorption spectrometry producing very fast rates of heating and an isothermal condition, both in space and in time1,2, and uses a direct relationship: peak absorbance = constant × mass of analyte, thereby dispensing with analytical calibration curves. Sensitivity is almost independent of the matrix and matrix interferences are greatly reduced. Background correction is not required.