A Thermo-Chemical Reactor for analytical atomic spectrometry

A novel atomization/vaporization system for analytical atomic spectrometry is developed. It consists of two electrically and thermally separated parts that can be heated separately. Unlike conventional electrothermal atomizers in which atomization occurs immediately above the vaporization site and at the same instant of time, the proposed system allows analyte atomization via an intermediate stage of fractional condensation as a two stage process: Vaporization → Condensation → Atomization. The condensation step is selective since vaporized matrix constituents are mainly non-condensable gases and leave the system by diffusion while analyte species are trapped on the cold surface of a condenser. This kind of sample distillation keeps all the advantages of traditional electrothermal atomization and allows significant reduction of matrix interferences. Integration into one design a vaporizer, condenser and atomizer gives much more flexibility for in situ sample treatment and thus the system is called a Thermo-Chemical Reactor (TCR). Details of the design, temperature measurements, vaporization-condensation-atomization mechanisms of various elements in variety of matrices are investigated in the TCR with spectral, temporal and spatial resolution. The ability of the TCR to significantly reduce interferences and to conduct sample pyrolysis at much higher temperatures as compared to conventional electrothermal atomizers is demonstrated. The analytical potential of the system is shown when atomic absorption determination of Cd and Pb in citrus leaves and milk powder without the use of any chemical modification. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved