Thermal stabilization of antimony in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

The effectiveness of noble metals as chemical modifiers for the thermal stabilization of antimony in biological fluids is studied directly using a radioactive tracer technique. Both positive and negative effects of the matrix on the performance of various modifiers are demonstrated. The modifier of choice proves to be a mixture of 0.025% Pd, Pt, Rh and Ru combined in the atomizer tube with 1% ascorbic acid. This modifier provides quantitative recovery of Sb up to at least 1200 °C for the matrices under study.