Electrothermal atomization laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectroscopy for the determination of indium

A dye laser pumped by a high-repetition-rate copper vapor laser was used as the excitation source to determine indium at parts-per-trillion level by electrothermal atomization laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry (ETA-LEAFS). A comparison was made between wall atomization, in pyrolytic and nonpyrolytic graphite tubes, and platform atomization. The influence of several chemical modifiers either in solution or precoated in the graphite tube was evaluated. The influence of several acids and NaOH in the analyte solution was also studied. Optimization of the analytical conditions was carried out to achieve the best signal-to-background ratio and consequently an absolute limit of detection of 1 fg. Some possible interferents of the method were evaluated. The method was evaluated by determining indium in blood, urine, soil, and urban dust samples. Recoveries between 99.17 and 109.17% are reported. A precision of 4.1%: at the 10 ng g(-1) level in water standards was achieved.