Application of a lab-made ternary Fe-Cr-Al coil vaporizer coupled to ICP OES for boron determination in powdered food after the sample preparation in alkaline media

•A ternary Fe-Cr-Al coil vaporizer was applied for trace-element determination.•The optimization of a sample preparation in alkaline media was carried out for boron determination.•No memory effect for boron determination using an ETV was observed.•Boron was determined in food samples. This work presents the development of a method for boron determination in food using a lab-made ternary Fe-Cr-Al coil vaporizer (composed of a glass chamber, a Fe-Cr-Al coil, and a power supply) after the sample dissolution in tetramethylammonium hydroxide. The sample preparation and the instrumental parameters were optimized using a central composite design. The chemical characterization and surface analysis of the Fe-Cr-Al coil were performed. The temperature of pyrolysis and vaporization, as well as the memory effect, and accuracy and analytical figures of merit were studied. After the proper optimization, the ternary Fe-Cr-Al coil applied as a vaporization system presented to solve the memory effect for boron determination in ICP OES. The comparison with a conventional sample introduction system presented good accuracy, as well as the analytical curve, showed good sensitivity with a good R-squared (0.992). The limit of detection obtained was 2 µg g−1.