Selective reduction of arsenic species by continuous hydride generation. Part I. Reaction media

Abstract

Continuous hydride generation, using sodium tetrahydroborate(III) as a reductant in conjunction with atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), has been used to form arsines selectively from arsenate (As^V), arsenite (As^III), monomethylarsonic acid (MMAA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA). The reaction media studied have been shown to allow the rapid determination of As^III alone, DMAA alone, As^III+ As^V and “total” arsenic, i.e., As^III+ As^V+ MMAA + DMAA. Interference effects produced by heavy metal ions are suppressed by the addition of masking agents.