Use of an Adjustable Impact Bead in the Analysis of Solutions in Organic Solvents by Flame Atomic Absorption

Throughput of organic solvent aerosol to the flame of an atomic absorption spectrometer may be controlled by varying the position of the impact bead relative to the nebulizer, instead of varying the solution uptake rate of the nebulizer. The usefulness of this simple technique has been demonstrated for a range of elements in three organic solvents (4-methylpentan-2-one, xylene, and a high-boiling-point iso-paraffin solvent), with air/C2H2 and N2O/C2H2 flames. It is shown that the adjustment of the impact bead alone allows the determination of high concentrations of copper and iron in lubricating oils without undue dilution of the sample and can result in significant improvements in the speed of analysis.