In situ concentration of selenium and tellurium hydrides in a silver-coated graphite atomizer

Abstract

A method is described for the sensitive determination of Se and Te by hydride generation with subsequent trapping and atomization in the graphite atomizer coated with silver. The atomization temperature for the Se and Te trapped on the silver surface occurred at 1800 °C, lower than that from the palladium surface (>2000 °C). The trapping temperatures for Se and Te are 200–400 °C and 200–800 °C, respectively. The characteristic masses are found to be 17 and 18 pg for Se and Te, respectively. The recommended method can be applied to the determination of Se and Te in biological samples with concentrations greater than 20 ng g^–1.