Development of Sample Preparation Techniques for Analyses of Trace Elements in Steel
Kyoko FUJIMOTO, Makoto SHIMURA, Susumu SATOH
pp. 285-291
Abstract
Precise and accurate determination of trace elements in steel is required in order to estimate the relationship between the material properties and the amounts of trace elements. This paper deals with the sample preparation including sample decomposition, matrix separation, and preconcentration, which are indispensable for the trace analysis.
Several decomposition techniques such as single test tube decomposition, acid digestion in a pressure bomb, and microwave digestion were applied to the steel sample. The contamination, which was caused by the large amounts of acids used and the atmosphere, was decreased by these techniques. In addition, simple operation was achieved.
For the matrix separation and pre-concentration of trace elements in steel, several methods including solvent extraction, chromatographic separation, precipitation separation, and vapor phase separation have been developed. Some of the techniques can be applied to the pre-concentration of multiple elements, and are applicable for the simultaneous analysis by ICP-AES and/or ICP-MS. Furthermore, flow injection analyses coupled with these pre-concentration techniques were developed and the good repeatability and simple operation were achieved.