Comparison of Nebulization-Spray Chamber Arrangements for Atomic Fluorescence and Atomic Emission Flame Spectrometry

Abstract

Ten different commercial atomic absorption nebulizer-chamber systems with a capillary burner and three laboratory-constructed ultrasonic nebulizer chamber systems with a miniflame burner are compared with respect to solution uptake rates, concentrational and absolute detection limits, efficiencies of nebulization, and common flame spectrometric interferences. Measurements of both flame atomic emission (Sr, Ca, K, Na) and flame atomic fluorescence (Mg, Cu, Pb) were performed for all cases. The ultrasonic and pneumatic nebulizer systems resulted in about the same concentrational detection limits, but the former resulted in ∼102X lower absolute detection limits. The batch type ultrasonic nebulizer gave much higher nebulization efficiencies than the continuous flow ultrasonic nebulizer or any of the pneumatic nebulizer systems. Chemical interferences were approximately the same in all nebulizer-burner systems. Nebulizer chambers with a J-bead resulted in lower detection limits than the same systems without J-beads.