Behaviour of the thermospray nebulizer as a system for the introduction of organic solutions in flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The results obtained in the evaluation of the thermospray nebulizer for the introduction of organic solutions in atomic spectrometry are described. To this end, the influence of the nebulization variables (i.e., liquid flow, control temperature and inner diameter of the capillary) and of the nature of the solvent on the fraction of solvent vaporized, on the drop size distribution of the primary aerosol, on the rates of analyte and solvent transport to the atomization cell and on the analytical signal has been studied. Experimental fraction of solvent vaporized values obtained under different nebulization conditions are reported for the first time. The results show that the characteristics of the aerosol generated strongly depend on the nebulization variables since they determine the amount of energy available for surface generation. The median of the volume drop size distribution of the primary aerosol decreases when the control temperature or the liquid flow is increased or when the inner diameter of the capillary is decreased. As regards the physical properties of the solvent, the so-called expansion factor (i.e., the volume of vapour produced per unit volume of liquid solvent) is the most influential. Surface tension and viscosity are much less significant here than in ordinary pneumatic nebulization. The volatility of the solvent and the characteristics of the primary aerosol determine the solvent transport efficiency which reaches values close to 100% in many cases. The analytical signal is mainly determined by the analyte transport rate, although a severe negative effect appears which is related to the high solvent load to the flame. Due to this fact, the use of organic solvents instead of water in thermospray nebulization for Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry does not provide clear advantages, at least without desolvation. A new modified Nukiyama-Tanasawa equation has been presented and evaluated in order to predict the Sauter mean diameter of the thermal aerosols. The results show that, under the conditions tested, this equation can not be applied to predict the characteristics of the primary aerosols generated with this type of nebulizer.