Communication. Rapid sample preconcentration by aerosol deposition for the determination of trace elements by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry

Abstract

A new approach to sample preconcentration for inductively coupled plasma spectrometry has been developed. The method involves deposition of the sample solution as an aerosol into an inductively heated, graphite, direct sample insertion probe. With a deposition time of 2 min and a sample volume of 0.5 ml, detection limits for Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were 0.05, 0.12, 0.10, and 0.07 ppb, respectively. These limits represent an improvement of almost three orders of magnitude over those obtained by conventional sample introduction in the same system. The relative standard deviation was <5% at the 10 ppb level. The conditions used and some performance characteristics are presented and discussed.