Direct determination of lead in soils and sediments by atomic absorption spectrometry employing a graphite capsule in flame atomiser

Abstract

The construction of a graphite capsule in flame atomiser is described for the direct atomic absorption spectrometric determination of lead in soils, sediments and bone ash. A single calibration graph can be used for different materials, prepared by atomisation of different masses of various standard reference materials. The absolute limit of detection of lead at the 283.3-nm line was 2 × 10^–3µg and the reproducibility was 8–20%(RSD). The effects of the physical properties of the graphite and the effect of the heating power upon the lead absorbance-time profiles were investigated. These parameters were found to have a direct influence on the sensitivity, accuracy and precision of the measurements.