Analysis of pure copper – a comparison of analytical methods

The reliability and performance of various analytical methods for the determination of 22 trace elements in pure copper is compared and discussed. The work was performed in the framework of an interlaboratory comparison for the preparation of four pure copper reference materials with graded element mass fractions of Ag, Al, As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sb, Se, Si, Sn, Te, Ti, Zn, and Zr. Special analytical results (ET-AAS, ICP-MS) obtained by the authors were described in more detail and were compared to the certified values. Special regard was paid to the influence of the copper matrix on performance and sensitivity of each analytical method and to the dissolution procedure of copper matrix and interferences from insoluble residues. For a generalized evaluation of the figures of merit for each applied elemental analytical method results from several independent laboratories were included in the discussion.