Recycling nebulisation system with exchangeable spray chamber for inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Abstract

A recycling nebulisation system with a small exchangeable spray chamber was developed for inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, allowing rapid exchange of samples without extinguishing the plasma. The exchange of the chamber required only 3 min with a memory effect of less than 0.01%. The proposed system allowed continuous nebulisation for 30 min with 2 ml of sample, but a gradual increase in the signal was observed owing to the enrichment of determinants. This signal drift was almost cancelled out in sequential measurements, because the elements were measured in the same sequence for both samples and standards. The system was successfully applied to the analysis of some certified reference materials.