Determination of trace amounts of phosphorus in silicate materials by simultaneous inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Abstract

Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) implemented on a simultaneous spectrometer was used for the determination of trace amounts of phosphorus in rocks, soils and sediments. Samples were decomposed by using a mixture of concentrated hydrofluoric, perchloric and nitric acid in Teflon beakers. Overlap of emissions from other elements present in the samples with the polychromator spectral line at 214.914 nm for phosphorus was studied. The corresponding inter-element coefficients for overlap correction were determined and the optimum position for background readings was established. The limit of determination achieved was 24 ppm referred to the solid sample. The proposed method was tested by applying it to the analysis of rock, soil and sediment certified reference materials, and determining its short-time precision and method precision, which turned out to be 0.24-0.68% and 1.70-4.16% (relative standard deviation), respectively.