DETERMINATION OF TRACE LEVELS OF WATER IN SOLID SAMPLES BY EVOLVED GAS-ANALYSIS HELIUM MICROWAVE PLASMA EMISSION-SPECTROMETRY

A method for the determination of traces of adsorbed and/or bound water in solid samples is developed. This method is made up of the combination of thermal gas evolution and helium microwave plasma emission spectrometry. The solid sample is placed in a quartz crucible which is heated electrically in a He gas flow system by a programmed power supply. Vaporized H//2O is carried into the plasma, and the atomic emission line intensities of O and H are simultaneously measured by two spectrometers. Peak areas of oxygen and hydrogen are used to measure the concentration of H//2O in the sample. A known volume of H//2O is used for calibration. Several sample analyses are performed.