SEQUENTIAL MULTI-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF SMALL FRAGMENTS OF GLASS BY ATOMIC-EMISSION SPECTROMETRY USING AN INDUCTIVELY COUPLED RADIOFREQUENCY ARGON PLASMA SOURCE

A method is described for the quantitative multi-element analysis of small fragments (200-500 μg) of glass using an inductively coupled radiofrequency argon plasma source. The glass samples are digested with a mixture of hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acids and chromium is added as an internal standard. An ultrasonic nebuliser is used in order to reduce to a minimum the volume of solution required for each analysis. A single monochromator and detection system is employed, and the wavelength regions of interest are examined sequentially by means of a specially constructed control unit. The results for aluminium, barium, iron, magnesium and manganese show that the analysis of glass fragments in the range 200-500 μg can be achieved with coefficients of variation of approximately 10%. Standard glasses were analysed to assess the accuracy of the method.