Slurry sampling ETAAS determination of sodium impurities in optical crystals of potassium titanyl phosphate and potassium gadolinium tungstate

Slurry sampling ETAAS was successfully applied to the determination of sodium impurities in single crystals of potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) and potassium gadolinium tungstate (KGW). Platform atomizers coated with titanium carbide or tungsten carbide, respectively, were used in order to avoid sensitivity drift due to the changes in the composition and the structure of the platform surface. Calibration curves with aqueous standards could be used for the KGW slurry (no matrix effects); analysis of KTP slurry required the standard additions method. The precision of the proposed method was better than 3% R.S.D. The results obtained by the present method showed a good agreement with those obtained by an independent method-flame AAS after sample digestion, which is an evidence for the good accuracy of the proposed method. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.