Abstract
On the determination of tramp elements (As, Bi, Cu, Pb, Sb, Sn, Zn) in iron and steel with inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), emission intensities of analytical atomic lines of these elements, background emission intensities, and degree of the spectral overlapping between the matrix and analyte elements were compared in the presence and the absence of an iron matrix. The presence of an iron matrix caused the gradual decrease in the emission intensities of the analytes and the increase in the background emission. Therefore sample weight must be controlled on chemical analysis. When the atomic lines of iron lay near to (or just on) the analytical atomic line, the line was not practically available. In order to overcome the problems described above, it was effective that the analytical elements were chemically separated from the iron matrix. By the chemical separation, the detection limits of tramp elements were drastically improved, e.g., from 1-10 ppm (μg g-1) levels to 0.01-0.1 ppm levels.
