Metal determinations with a novel slotted-tube water-cooled atom trap

Abstract

Data is presented for lead and cadmium using a novel collecting device, which consists of a commercially available slotted-tube atom trap (STAT) and a single silica tube water-cooled atom trap (WCAT), fabricated in house. A diagram is given which shows this device (slotted-tube water-cooled atom trap or STWCAT) mounted on a new holder, showing its physical orientation over the slot of the burner. Data is also given showing the improvement in sensitivity and precision over other forms of atom trapping with characteristic concentrations of 0.112 and 1.042 ng ml^–1 for cadmium and lead, respectively. A series of samples was collected, ranging from local river water to sewage effluent, and determined using three different atom trapping techniques, such as the single-tube WCAT, the dual “bent” WCAT and the STWCAT. It was found that the new STWCAT performed very well in comparison with the other two tubes, showing very high sensitivity with excellent precision.