Abstract

Non-spectral interference effects in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were investigated for the direct injection high efficiency nebuliser (DIHEN) the large bore DIHEN (LB-DIHEN) and a microconcentric nebuliser (MCN) with a cyclone spray chamber. Interference effects from nitric and sulfuric acid, methanol and sodium nitrate solutions were studied. Eight elements with different ionisation potentials (IP) and atomic masses were monitored at various nebuliser gas flow rates. The processes giving rise to interference effects observed with the DIHEN were investigated by monitoring relative analyte sensitivities at different radial plasma positions. It was found that the average magnitude of interference effects decreased in the order MCN ≈ DIHEN > LB-DIHEN, showing that analytical performance is improved by removing the spray chamber. It is suggested that remaining interference effects observed for the DIHEN are caused by a matrix induced spatial redistribution of the aerosol in the plasma due to differences in droplet size distribution and density between water and the matrix solutions. In addition, the high plasma solvent load with the DIHEN results in a pronounced negative correlation between relative analyte signal magnitude and IP. For the LB-DIHEN, these effects were smaller, and other element specific interference effects dominated. For the eight elements monitored, element specific interference effects increased in the order MCN < DIHEN < LB-DIHEN. Transient acid effects were also investigated and found to be virtually eliminated by the use of a DIHEN instead of the MCN system. For the latter, stabilisation times of 3–10 min were necessary when changing the nitric acid concentration between 0.22 and 2.2 mol l⁻¹.