"One should rather go horne and mesh a net than jump into the pond and dive far fishes" (Chinese proverb) Recognizing the precise analytical question and planning the analysis according ly is certainly the first prerequisite for successful trace and ultratrace determina tions. The second prerequisite is to select the method appropriate to the analyti cal specification. The method itself consists of a set of available tools. The third prerequisite is that analysts and operators know the methods weH enough to enjoy challenging themselves as weH as the methods and are rewarded by the joy of high-quality data, fast and economical results and the conviction of having the analytical job under control. This skill is known among analysts or operators working with an exciting new and sometimes complicated analytical technique but is gradually lost on ce a technique becomes "mature" and a routine tool. Unfortunately, laboratory managers often do not allow sufficient training time for their analysts and technicians for "routine" techniques and thus miss an opportunity for motivating their co-workers and obtaining the full benefit of the equipment. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) is one of the mature analytical techniques wh ich is seen as a routine method in most laboratories. More than 10,000 furnaces are operated in elemental trace and ultratrace analy ses in laboratories around the world today.

Die Atomabsorptionsspektroskopie mit Graphitrohrküvetten wird vor allem in der Material- und Umweltwissenschaft zur Untersuchung von Legierungen, Keramiken, Polymeren, Kompositwerkstoffen und Abwässern eingesetzt. Dieses umfangreiche Handbuch enthält viele praktische Beispiele, Tips und Tricks sowie Angaben zur instrumentellen Ausrüstung, zu modernen Entwicklungen und zur Fehlersuche: Eine wahre Fundgrube für den Praktiker, jedoch auch für Einsteiger geeignet - mit verschiedenen Anhängen, historischen Hintergrundinformationen, Literaturverzeichnissen und einem Glossar der verwendeten Fachterminologie. (06/98)

High-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS AAS) is the most revolutionary innovation since the introduction of AAS in 1955. Here, the authors provide the first complete and comprehensive discussion of HR-CS AAS and its application to the analysis of a variety of difficult matrices. Published just in time with the first commercial instrument available for this new technique, the book is a must for all those who want to know more about HR-CS AAS, and in particular for all future users. The advantages of the new technique over conventional line-source AAS are clearly demonstrated using practical examples and numerous figures, many in full color. HR-CS AAS is overcoming essentially all the remaining limitations of established AAS, particularly the notorious problem of accurate background measurement and correction. Using a continuum radiation source and a CCD array detector makes the spectral environment visible to several tenths of a nanometer on both sides of the analytical line, tremendously facilitating method development and elimination of interferences. Conceived as a supplement to the standard reference work on AAS by B. Welz and M. Sperling, this book does not repeat such fundamentals as the principles of atomizers or atomization mechanisms. Instead, it is strictly focused on new and additional information required to profit from HR-CS AAS. It presents characteristic concentration for flame atomization and characteristic mass data for electrothermal atomization for all elements, as well as listing numerous secondary lines of lower sensitivity for the determination of higher analyte concentrations. The highly resolved molecular absorption spectra of nitric, sulfuric and phosphoric acids, observed in an air-acetylene flame, which are depicted together with the atomic lines of all elements, make it possible to predict potential spectral interferences.

"One should rather go horne and mesh a net than jump into the pond and dive far fishes" (Chinese proverb) Recognizing the precise analytical question and planning the analysis according ly is certainly the first prerequisite for successful trace and ultratrace determina tions. The second prerequisite is to select the method appropriate to the analyti cal specification. The method itself consists of a set of available tools. The third prerequisite is that analysts and operators know the methods weH enough to enjoy challenging themselves as weH as the methods and are rewarded by the joy of high-quality data, fast and economical results and the conviction of having the analytical job under control. This skill is known among analysts or operators working with an exciting new and sometimes complicated analytical technique but is gradually lost on ce a technique becomes "mature" and a routine tool. Unfortunately, laboratory managers often do not allow sufficient training time for their analysts and technicians for "routine" techniques and thus miss an opportunity for motivating their co-workers and obtaining the full benefit of the equipment. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) is one of the mature analytical techniques wh ich is seen as a routine method in most laboratories. More than 10,000 furnaces are operated in elemental trace and ultratrace analy ses in laboratories around the world today.

The analysis of solid materials by introducing solid test sampies directly into the graphite furnace of an atomic absorption spectrometer must be regarded as a powerful analytical approach. Even if it is - of course - not the "ultimate method". After three decades of development, the instrumentation and the methodology are available to apply solid sampling successfully for the analysis of almost every material. Moreover, several tasks cannot be solved using other analytical methods as neatly as they can using direct solid sampling. The conventional methods work more or less satisfactorily, so why do we sug gest applying solid sampling much more extensively than it is today? To begin with, the features pointed out time and again should be named: Rapidity of the analytical procedure, low susceptibility to analyte loss or contamination, very smallquantities can be analyzed, and expenditure on instrumentation and per sonell is also low. These properties are examined and the necessary conditions are discussed (Chapter 1) as are the analytical tasks (Chapter 6) for which use of this method is advantageous. Other features that are often overlooked are just as important: The simplicity of the analytical procedures allows the analyst to main tain an intimate relationship with the original scientific task that has to be solved with the analysis. Furthermore, the considerable reduction of working place haz ards and pollution by avoiding the use of chemical reagents must nowadays be assessed as a feature as important as the others.

This book describes both the theory of atomic spectroscopy and all the major atomic spectrometric techniques (AAS, Flame-AES, Plasma AES, AFS, and ICP-MS), including basic concepts, instrumentation and applications. Spectrochemical Analysis by Atomic Absorption and Emission is very wide in scope and will be extremely useful to both undergraduates and lecturers undertaking modern analytical chemistry courses. It contains many figures and tables which illuminate the text, covers various sample preparation methods and gives suggestions for further reading.

This is a comprehensive and authoritative treatise on all aspects of the theory, instrumentation and practical usefulness of electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) and associated techniques. This book reflects the significant changes that have taken place in this popular technique for the accurate determination of metals at ultratrace concentrations in a wide variety of sample types. This book provides coverage of: * The evolution of ETAAS * Heating characteristics of graphite furnace atomizers * Detailed descriptions of modern instrumentation * The use of chemical modifiers * Atomization from solids and slurries * Other specialized techniques using electrothermal atomizers * Extensive cross-referencing between chapters Comprehensive coverage combined with a descriptive style make this a key resource for graduate students in analytical chemistry, researchers in analytical atomic spectrometry and analysts who routinely use ETAAS.