Determination of trace impurity elements in MnZn ferrite powder by direct current glow discharge mass spectrometry

An analytical method for the determination of 26 impurity elements (such as Li, Be, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Ga, Ge, Y, Nb, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, W and Pb) in MnZn ferrite powder by direct current glow discharge mass spectrometry (GD-MS) was established. MnZn ferrite powder was mixed with copper powder, used as a conductor, and pressed. The effects of MnZn ferrite powder preparation conditions and glow discharge parameters for the sensitivity and stability of signal analysis were investigated. By determining the choice of isotope and the application of the mass resolutions of 4000 (MR, medium resolution) and 10000 (HR, high resolution), mass spectral interference was eliminated. The contents of impurity elements in MnZn ferrite powder was calculated by subtraction after normalizing the total signal of Mn, Zn, Fe, O and Cu. The results showed that the detection limit of 26 kinds of impurity elements was between 0.002 and 0.57 mu g/g, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was between 3.33% and 32.35%. The accuracy of this method was verified by the ICP-MS. The method was simple and practical, which is applied to the determination of impurity elements in MnZn ferrite powder.