Evaluation of figures of merit for Zn determination in environmental and biological samples using EDL excited AFS in a new radiofrequency capacitively coupled plasma

Abstract

A new atomic fluorescence spectrometry system based on medium power single ring electrode radiofrequency capacitively coupled plasma torch (SRTr.f.CCP) (275 W; 27.12 MHz; 0.7 L min⁻¹ Ar) and electrodeless discharge lamp (EDL) was assessed for Zn determination in environmental and biological samples. The EDL-SRTr.f.CCP-AFS method is virtually free from non-spectral interferences and provides a detection limit of 8.2 μg L⁻¹ and 0.8–2.8 mg Kg⁻¹ Zn in liquid and solid samples, respectively. The accuracy and precision of the method were assessed by Zn determination in various certified reference materials. For concentration levels of 59–11400 μg L⁻¹ in water and 17–316 mg Kg⁻¹ in solid sample a relative standard deviation of 1.0–10.0% and recovery of 103 ± 9% were obtained. The new spectrometric system fulfils the requirements for Zn determination in environmental and biological matrices with the advantage of an easy operation and low running costs compared to ICP-MS.