SETAC Asia/Pacific Conference 2014

SETAC 2014

PP075 - A New Modular Approach to Automated Cold Vapour and Hydride Generation AFS for Mercury and Hydride Forming Elements

Authors: Timothy Williams, Dr Warren T Corns, Dr Peter B Stockwell and Dr Bin Chen (PSA)

P S Analytical have been manufacturing fully automated cold vapour and hydride generation AFS systems for over thirty years. The determination of mercury and hydride forming elements such As, Se and Sb continues to be a challenging task for many laboratories because of the low levels often encountered. The cold vapour and hydride generation techniques require sample preparation beyond digestion to ensure good hydride and Hg vapour generation yields.  This is because Mercury and the hydride forming elements may occur as organic metallic species and also in different valence states even after sample dissolution. The problem is not unique to vapour generation techniques as the volatility of species may also affect the sample introduction efficiency of ICP systems. Sample preparation is typically done offline prior to measurement which can be time consuming and in some cases detailed knowledge of the species present in the digest is needed. When coupled to liquid chromatography to offer speciation, there is a need to perform post column conversion of eluted species prior to the vapour generation step. 

In this paper we will introduce a new series of modular products based on vapour generation AFS for mercury and the hydride forming elements. One of the modules that will be discussed provides automated sample preparation by use of an UV photolysis system that can operate at elevated temperatures. The system has a built in LC pump and injection valve to provide a compact versatile speciation module. The benefits of this new approach will be discussed with supporting analytical performance data for a new range of products.

Keywords; mercury, selenium, arsenic, hydride, AFS

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