Tungsten filament vaporiser and oxyhydrogen flame for optical-emission spectrometry

Abstract

The vaporisation of a sample from a tungsten filament into a hydrogen atmosphere with subsequent combustion in oxygen provides a novel source for optical-emission spectrometry. The burner and ancillary equipment are described. Some of the factors affecting sensitivity, particularly in relation to flame background, are discussed. Results are presented for calcium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, nickel, silver, strontium and thallium. The precision is about 5% for a 3-µl sample of total element content between 10 pg (for lithium) and about 7 ng (for lead).