DETERMINATION OF 6 ARSENIC SPECIES BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY HYDRIDE GENERATION ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY WITH ONLINE THERMOOXIDATION

Anion-exchange HPLC has been coupled to on-line thermo-oxidation and hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) for the speciation of As(V), As(III), MMA, DMA, AsB and AsC. The thermoreactor consists of a loop of PTFE tubing dipped in a powdered-graphite oven heated to + 140-degrees-C. Samples and persulphate solution run together into the thermo-reactor. The thermo-oxidation conditions were optimized using a FIA system. The chromatographic and chemical parameters affecting hydride generation efficiency were optimized. The overlap of the As(III) and AsB peaks made it necessary to determine AsB as the difference between absorbance in the presence and in the absence of thermo-oxidation. The thermo-conversion efficiencies were above 96%. Recoveries were around 100% and detection limits below 1 ng. The proposed method is rapid, sensitive and precise (RSD about 5%), making it suitable for on-line determination in environmental samples.