Atomic Spectrometry Update—Inorganic Mass Spectrometry and X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

Abstract

The MS section this year continues to provide evidence for the vigorous development of many of the diverse techniques that come under the title of inorganic MS. The plasma techniques (GDMS and ICP-MS) in particular have experienced rapid growth but it is of concern that many reports are abstracts from conferences or meetings rather than full papers. The application of lasers continues to be popular and is an area of considerable growth. Emphasis is placed this year on instrument refinements and technique developments although novel or interesting applications still receive attention.

This review year the XRF section places reduced emphasis on applications by concentrating on work which reports particularly interesting or new aspects. Specimen preparation remains an area of particular importance and this is reflected by the degree of coverage in this Update. The instrumentation section has been strengthened and this helped by the continuing level of publication in areas such as TXRF, SRXRF and X-ray microfluorescence and new interest in CCD detectors.