Abstract
This article deals with optimization of conditions of photochemical vapor generation of nickel for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The volatile species of nickel was generated in the flow arrangement, when sample was injected to a stream of a reaction medium using either formic acid or formic acid with the addition of formate anions.
Efficient generation was accomplished using a 19W high-efficiency flow-through photoreactor and the generated volatile nickel tetracarbonyl was introduced to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer for ultrasensitive detection. Formic acid concentration and the effect of additives were carefully studied with the aim to reach the highest generation efficiency.
The limit of detection achieved at chosen optimal conditions was 1.6 pg mL-1. The accuracy and feasibility of this sensitive methodology were successfully verified by analysis of river water certified reference material (SLRS-6) using a standard addition technique.