Assessment of various designs of L'vov platform graphite tube atomisers

Abstract

Several alternative designs of L'vov platform graphite tube atomiser have been assessed by their performance under routine analytical conditions with an established electrothermal atomisation atomic absorption spectrometric method for the determination of lead in whole blood. Using the delay in appearance time of the lead atomic signals and analytical sensitivity as figures of merit, the alternative designs do not perform as well as a solid pyrolytic graphite L'vov platform placed in a non-grooved pyrolytic graphite coated graphite tube. This configuration, which appears to be optimum for current, commercially available electrothermal atomisers, fails to give isothermal atomisation, the attainment of which will require the further development of constant-temperature atomisers.