Determination of Rhodium in Rhodium-Loaded Carbon Catalysts Using Microwave-Assisted Sample Digestion and ICP-OES

Abstract

A novel method for the determination of rhodium in rhodium-loaded carbon catalyst samples was established by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry after samples digested by microwave oven with aqua regia. Such experiment conditions were investigated as the influence of sample digestion methods, digestion time, digestion temperature and interfering ions on the determination. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) of Rh for tested solutions were 9 ng mL-1. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for Rh were 2.11 (CRh = 1 mg L-1, n = 7). The linear ranges of calibration graphs for Rh were 0 ~ 150.00 mg L-1. The proposed method was applied to determine the practical samples with good recoveries and satisfactory results.