NON-DISPERSIVE ATOMIC-FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRY OF TRACE AMOUNTS OF BISMUTH BY INTRODUCTION OF ITS GASEOUS HYDRIDE INTO A PREMIXED ARGON (ENTRAINED AIR) HYDROGEN FLAME

A method has been developed for the determination of bismuth by generation of its gaseous hydride and introduction of the hydride into a premixed argon (entrained air)-hydrogen flame, the atomic-fluorescence lines from which are all detected by use of a non-dispersive system. The detection limit is 5 pg/ml, or 0.1 ng of bismuth, but the reagent blank found in a 20-ml sample volume was approximately 2 ng of bismuth. Analytical working curves obtained by measuring peak-heights and integrated peak-areas of the signals are linear over a range of about four orders of magnitude from the detection limit. Perchloric, phosphoric and sulphuric acids up to 2.0M concentration give no interference, but nitric acid gives slight depression of the signal. The presence of silver, gold, nickel, palladium, platinum, selenium and tellurium in 1000-fold ratio to bismuth causes pronounced depression of the signal, whereas mercury and tin slightly enhance the atomic-fluorescence signal. The method has been applied to the determination of bismuth in aluminium-base alloys and sulphide ores with use of the standard additions method. The results are in good agreement with those obtained by flame atomic-absorption spectrometry and optical emission spectrometry with an inductively coupled plasma. © 1979.