Size-based speciation of iron in clay mineral particles by gravitational field-flow fractionation with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Gravitational field-flow fractionation (FFF) coupled to UV and ETAAS detectors has been tested for micron-size particles in the range of 5–20 μm using three Fe-rich clay samples. The iron content estimated after aqua regia extraction was about 20–40 mg kg−1. The ETAAS analysis was performed both off-line from collected fractions and in an online continuous sampling mode using a specially designed flow through vial placed in the autosampler of the ETAAS. Comparison of the direct injection method with total analysis after aqua regia digestion shows that slurry injection of the dilute samples in the gravitational field-flow fractionation (GrFFF) effluent is quite efficient in these samples. In the majority of cases, more than 90% recovery was obtained for the slurry injection method. Fe mass-based particle size distributions and Fe concentration versus particle diameter plots can be generated using certain assumptions. This provides detailed information on size-based speciation of particulate samples. Generally, the Fe concentrations in the particles decreased slightly with an increase in particle size as is often found for soil and sediment samples.