Thesis

The application of carbon furnace atomisation to the determination of indium in galena and sphalerite

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 1982
Thesis identifier
  • T4366
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • The work described in this thesis involved the application of electrothermal atomisation, allied to atomic absorption and atomic emission spectrometry, to the determination of indium in the lead and zinc ores, galena and sphalerite. Samples of the ores were collected from sites in Scotland, Northern England and Eire. Optimum conditions were established for different types of tube and platform atomisers and the detection limits compared for each. The detection limits ranged from 1 to 3 µg1⁻¹ for atomic absorption and from 0.08 to 1.0 µg1⁻¹. 1 for atomic emission. The effect of various acids and metal ions on the indium signal was determined and possible interferences identified. A simple method based on dissolution of 1g samples of galena in nitric acid followed by addition of sulphuric acid proved satisfactory. For sphalerite determinations, 0.5g samples were dissolved in nitric acid. Comparison of the analytical results obtained by atomic absorption and emission was carried out and the two methods were shown to yield good agreement.
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DOI

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