Solution–cathode glow discharge – optical emission spectrometry of a new design and using a compact spectrograph

Abstract

A solution–cathode glow discharge is coupled to a compact spectrograph. Such a coupling results in a small, potentially portable instrument that can simultaneously detect a range of metals by optical emission spectrometry. Detection limits were calculated for Ag (1 ppb), Cd (2 ppb), Cu (8 ppb), Fe (40 ppb), Hg (20 ppb), Mg (3 ppb), Ni (12 ppb), Pb (10 ppb) and Se (3 ppm). These values are similar to those for an earlier, monochromator-based solution–cathode glow discharge system. All calibration curves showed good linearity (R² ≥ 0.9994). Short-term precision ranged from 0.6–7%.