Evaluationof metallic tube as atomizer in the HG-AAS technique: analysis of analytical and morphological parameters

Author(s)

Aline Klassen

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Química
• Defense date: 2007-01-08

Examining board members

Marco Aurelio Zezzi Arruda; Maria Goreti Rodrigues Vale; Anne Hélène Fostier

• Advisor: Marco Aurelio Zezzi Arruda

Abstract

In this work, the metal atomizer (alloy INCONEL600®) efficiency in the HG-AAS technique was evaluated. It was divided into three Chapters, each one referring to the development of methodologies for arsenic, bismuth and selenium. Physical and chemical variables were evaluated using reference solutions of 50 mg L for As and Bi, and 400 mg L for Se. The evaluated variables were: acid, NaBH4 and NaOH concentration, length of the reaction coil, injected volume, carrier flow rate, argon carrier flow rate, inner diameter of the capillary, among others. The acid concentration for selenium determination was fixed at 7 mol L. After methodology optimization, some analytical parameters were obtained, respectively for As, Bi and Se: limit of detection - LOD, 2.3, 0.7 and 1.8 mg L, relative standard deviation - RSD, 5.8, 2.7 and 10% and regression coefficient - R, 0.9978, 0.9997 and 0.9974. The RSD of the method was based on As, Bi and Se analytical repeatability from samples. Then, a concomitant study was carried out for As, Bi and Se determination. The analyte:concomitant proportion for As and Se was based on those samples used in this work. This result showed that the presence of Cu, Fe and Ni greatly affected the selectivity for As and Bi, as well as Cu, Bi and As can be considered potential concomitants for Se. Certified reference materiais as well as medical samples were used for checking the accuracy of the proposed methods. By analyzing the results using the t test, no statistical difference at the 95% confidence level was found. After finishing the development of the analytical procedure as well as its application to real samples, each metal atomizer used for each developed methodology was then cut in different parts and morphological as well as X-ray analysis were performed to evaluate the metal distribution on the atomizer. From this study, some explanation was made about the necessity of the standard solution injection into the system for As determination. Additionally, carbon nanotubes were also found in the atomizer surfaces when it was applied to Si determination. Its presence was confirmed by the transmission electronic microscopy technique. (AU)