Abstract :
The Group IIA metals studied exhibited similar mechanisms when atomized from graphite and tantalum lined surfaces. The vaporization of beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium begins with the decomposition of the nitrate during drying and the deposition of the oxide on the interior of the graphite. Each metal appears to produce an early absorption by a hydroxide followed by the oxide and subsequently by the metal. The presence of carbides could not be confirmed but the graphite may play an active role in the atomization of the Group IIA nitrates, as suggested by the accelerated degradation of the furnace for most of the substances examined. The carbides did not appear to vaporize well from the graphite but did seem to react readily with water vapor from the air.
