Direct solid sample analysis in a moderate-power argon microwave-induced plasma with spark generation

Abstract

A spark–Ar microwave-induced plasma (MIP) atomic emission spectrometry system has been developed for the direct analysis of solid samples. Particles of the sample are generated with a spark and swept into a moderate-power Ar MIP connected to a sequential spectrometer. Low-Alloy Steel and Aluminium Alloy Standard Reference Materials were analysed by the proposed system and the detection limits for most elements of interest were around 10 µg g^–1 or less, which are comparable to a spark–Ar inductively coupled plasma (ICP) system. Precisions were in the range 3–11%, which are 2–3 times higher than those of the spark–ICP system. Hence spark–MIP AES is a viable alternative technique to spark–ICP-AES.