Tungsten coil atomic emission spectrometry

A tungsten coil atomic emission spectrometer is described and evaluated. The system employs a single tungsten coil as a combined atomizer and excitation source for the determination of metals by atomic emission spectrometry. The tungsten coil is extracted from a 150 W, 15 V commercial slide projector light bulb. A simple, laboratory constructed, computer-controlled power supply provides a constant current to the coil. A high-resolution Czerny–Turner monochromator with a charge coupled device detector completes the system. Simultaneous, multi-element analyses are possible within a 4 nm spectral window. Eleven test elements are used to characterize the system: Al (396.1 nm), Co (353.0 nm), Cr (427.1 nm), Dy (404.6 nm), Ga (403.3 nm), K (404.4 nm), Mn (403.1 nm), Pb (405.8 nm), Rb (420.2 nm), Sc (404.8 nm), and Yb (398.7 nm). Tungsten coil atomic emission detection limits are reported for these elements for the first time: 0.02 ng Al, 0.7 ng Co, 0.003 ng Cr, 0.01 ng Dy, 0.7 ng Ga, 0.3 ng K, 0.04 ng Mn, 10 ng Pb, 0.07 ng Rb, 1 ng Sc, and 0.003 ng Yb. The precision for the new technique is better than 13% relative standard deviation for all metals at concentrations two orders of magnitude above the detection limit. Aluminum, Cr, Mn, and K are determined in a standard reference material (trace elements in water) after simple dilution with water, and found values varied from certified values by up to 26%. The average tungsten coil lifetime was found to be 265 heating cycles. The elimination of the external radiation source needed for atomic absorption measurements results in an emission system that could be quite portable.