Small spray chamber with a concentric nebuliser for inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Abstract

The operational performance of small, single-barrel spray chambers used in conjunction with a concentric nebuliser was evaluated both for discrete and for continuous nebulisation in inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Small chambers of simple cylindrical shape significantly improved the signal response time, and their construction was simple. However, memory effects were not improved in comparison with those observed with a double-barrel chamber. Judging from the over-all performance characteristics, sensitivity, stability and response time, small chambers of 2–3 cm internal diameter and ca. 10 cm in length compare favourably with more complex double-barrel chambers for discrete and continuous nebulisation.