Comparative analysis of aluminium oxide powders by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with low and high mass resolution

Abstract

ICP-MS with low and moderate mass resolution was applied to the determination of trace elements (B, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Zr, Ba, La and Ce) in two different pure Al₂O₃ powders after decomposition. Four different sets of measurements were performed: (1) with quadrupole instrument in standard operation; (2) with the same instrument including an on-line matrix trace separation step; (3) with a double-focusing magnetic field instrument operated at low resolution (R= 300); and (4) with the same instrument operated with moderate resolution (R= 3000). Generally, the quantitative results obtained with the four different techniques are in good agreement. Application of the double-focusing instrument with moderate mass resolution permitted the determination of spectrally interfering elements such as V, Cr, Mn, Fe and Ga in Al₂O₃ in the 0.04–10 µg g^–1 range far above the detection limit. For all four applied techniques, blank values arising from the reagents and instrumentation were a major limitation for a number of elements, and the lowest detection limits were obtained in each instance for elements that do not suffer from limitations due to blank values.