KANDA, Satoshi

KAWABE, Iwao

OHTA, Atsuyuki

TORIUMI, Takahiro

An ultrasonic nebulizer used in ICP-AES analyses of REE, Y, and Sc improves analytical sensitivities for the elements by one order of magnitude relative to the conventional pneumatic nebulizer. The detection limits (the concentrations corresponding to 3σ-background variations) by ICP-AES with the ultrasonic nebulizer range between 0.05 ppb and 0.5 ppb for Eu, Tm, Yb, Lu, Y, and Sc, and between 0.5 ppb and 5 ppb for La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er. Only for Pr, the detection limit is 10 ppb. The detection limits correspond to about 2% of the chondritic abundances or less, except for Pr and Tb. No significant memory effects have been found in the ultrasonic nebulizer. It takes 50 to 60 sec to clean out a sample solution after its measurements. The clean-out time is only about twice that of the conventional pneumatic nebulizer. Intermittent injections of dilute HF solution (0.5%) are so effective to maintain a quartz transducer clean. This makes its nebulization efficiency approximately constant. The ultrasonic nebulizer can be applied to routine ICP-AES analysis of REE, Y, and Sc in a wide spectrum of geochemical samples in couple with adequate wet chemical techniques for their group separation. Ar gas and sample solutions consumed by the ultrasonic nebulizer in each run are about twice as much as those by the pneumatic one. To save running cost and sample solutions, it is better to use the ultrasonic nebulizer as a complement to the conventional pneumatic one only for a limited number of REE which are relatively insensitive and less abundant like Pr, Tb, Ho, and Tm. Some examples of our application are presented.国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している

Effective application of ultrasonic nebulizer to ICP-AES analysis of REE, Y and Sc in geochemical samples

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