Determination of lead, bismuth, zinc, silver and antimony in steel and nickel-base alloys by atomic-absorption spectrometry using direct atomisation of solid samples in a graphite furnace

Abstract

A fast and simple method of determining lead, bismuth, zinc, silver and antimony in steel and nickel-base alloys has been developed using unmodified commercial atomic-absorption equipment. The method is based on the direct atomisation of solid metal samples in a graphite furnace. The samples can weigh between 1 and 20 mg, but test results are influenced by the shape of the samples. The matrix effects are very slight. Calibration graphs have been drawn using steel samples with known contents. Practical content ranges, e.g., lead 0.03–150 µg g^–1 and bismuth 0.03–6 µg g^–1, and low detection limits, down to 0.02 µg g^–1, have been obtained by selecting suitable lines of analysis. The relative standard deviation (1s) is approximately 6% of the content of all elements investigated throughout the stated range of content. The time required for analysis is short, being about 6 min for a duplicate determination.