Solid sampling determination of lithium and sodium additives in microsamples of yttrium oxyorthosilicate by high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Solid sampling high resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (SS-HR-CS-GFAAS) methods were developed and studied for the fast and sensitive quantitation of Li and Na additives in microsamples of cerium-doped yttrium oxyorthosilicate (Y2SiO5:Ce) scintillator materials. The methods were optimized for solid samples by studying a set of GFAAS conditions (i.e., the sample mass, sensitivity of the analytical lines, and graphite furnace heating programs). Powdered samples in the mass range of 0.099-0.422 mg were dispensed onto graphite sample insertion boats, weighed and analyzed. Pyrolysis and atomization temperatures were optimized by the use of single-element standard solutions of Li and Na (acidified with 0.144 mol/L HNO3) at the Li I 610353 nm and Na I 285.3013 nm analytical lines. For calibration purposes, the method of standard addition with Li and Na solutions was applied. The correlation coefficients (R values) of the calibration graphs were not worse than 0.9678. The limit of detection for oxyorthosilicate samples was 20 mu g/g and 80 mu g/g for Li and Na, respectively. The alkaline content of the solid samples were found to be in the range of 0.89 and 8.4 mg/g, respectively. The accuracy of the results was verified by means of analyzing certified reference samples, using methods of standard (solution) addition calibration. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.