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Updated: Sep 28, 2026

Determination of Inorganic Arsenic in a Wide Range of Food Matrices using Hydride Generation - Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.
Published on: September 1, 2017
Slurry sampling for the determination of thallium in soils and sediments by graphite furnace atomic absorption
1Analytical Laboratory, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, M.C. Sklodowska Sq.3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland. rdobrow@hermes.umcs.lublin.pl
Abstract:
The analytical conditions for thallium determination in soils and sediments by slurry sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry were studied and optimized. Elimination of a strong background for soils rich in organic materials by application of tungsten carbides coated graphite tubes/platforms was studied in detail. Tungsten carbides increased the maximum permissible pyrolysis temperature from 300 to 900 degrees C. The mechanism of tungsten carbide formation on different graphite surfaces was proposed. Application of a strong basic anion-exchange resin for interference elimination in thallium determination in marine sediments was described. Calibration was performed directly using aqueous standards both for soil and sediment analysis. Analysis of CRM confirmed the reliability of the approach. The precision and accuracy of thallium determination by the described method for soils and sediments was acceptable. A characteristic mass of 13.8 pg was obtained and the limit of detection for the proposed method was around 0.06 microg g(-1) Tl.
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