Atomic spectrometric detection of hydride forming elements following in situ trapping within a graphite furnace

The historical development of in situ techniques in the graphite furnace based on chemical generation of hydride forming elements and mercury coupled with batch and flow injection sampling formats is presented. Detection via AAS, MIP-AES, ICP-MS and FANES is considered. The current state-of-the-art, including advantages and limitations of this approach, is discussed.