Speciation analysis of inorganic arsenic in coal samples by microwave-assisted extraction and high performance liquid chromatography coupled to hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A new method was developed for the speciation analysis of inorganic arsenic in coal samples by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry after microwave-assisted extraction. Effective extract of As(III) and As(V) in coal sample was achieved by 1.0 mol L−1H3PO4 and 0.1 mol L−1ascorbic acid. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection (LOD) were 0.01 μg L−1 and 0.02 μg L−1, the relative standard deviations (RSD) were 2.4% and 3.3% (c=10.0 μg L−1, n=7), recoveries were 102.5% and 96.5% for As(III) and As(V). The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of speciation of inorganic arsenic in coal samples and GBW11117 coal standard reference material with complex matrix.