Spectral interferences in the determination of traces of scandium, yttrium and rare earth elements in ''pure'' rare earth matrices by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry .3. Europium

This paper is the third part of a series of papers dealing with spectral interferences of rare earth elements (REEs) in inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The present article shows: (a) the spectral data of europium interferent for 200 pm wide windows centred (+/-100 pm) about prominent lines of scandium, yttrium and REEs; (b) the database of Q values for line interference (Q(l)) and Q values for (wing) background interference (Q(w)); (c) the detection limits measured by using the ''true detection limit'' criterion as proposed by P.W.J.M. Boumans and J.J.A.M. Vrakking (Spectrochim. Acta Part B, 42 (1987) 819; 43 (1988) 69). Different possibilities for improvement of the true detection limits are discussed: the use of equipment of high resolving power, the application of multicomponent analysis (MCA) techniques and preliminary separation of the matrix component combined with preconcentration of trace REEs. This article is an electronic publication in Spectrochimica Acta Electronica (SAE), the electronic section of Spectrochimica Acta Part B (SAB). The hard copy text is accompanied by a disk with data and text fries. The data files comprise in particular the tabular material of this article in electronic form.