Determination of trace amounts of arsenic, bismuth and antimony in iron and steel by continuous hydride generation and ICP-AES or ICP-MS

Trace of hydride-forming elements, As, Bi and Sb in iron and steel have been simultaneously determined by continuous hydride generation and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The effects of masking reagents of matrix elements and acid concentration on the hydride generating conditions are investigated. A standard addition method is necessary for the determination of Bi, to compensate for the interference from alloy element, Ni. Detection limits of As, Bi and Sb are 0.5, 0.8, 0.5 ng/ml by ICP-AES and 0.03, 0.02, 0.03 ng/ml by ICP-MS, respectively, improved a sensitivity of a factor of 1-2 orders of magnitude from the conventional solution nebulization method.