Hydride generation for the direct determination of trace and ultra-trace level of arsenic and antimony in waters using derivative atomic absorption spectrometry

A new method is developed for the direct determination of trace and ultra-trace level of arsenic and antimony in waters by hydride generation derivative atomic absorption spectrometry (DHGAAS). The signal model and fundamentals of DHGAAS are described. The effects of atomization temperature, argon flow rate, acidity and concentration of KBH4 and KI were investigated and analytical conditions were optimized. The sensitivities for arsenic and antimony were increased 36.4 and 27.6 times better than those of conventional hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS). For a 2 mV min–1 sensitivity range setting, the characteristic concentration was 0.003 µg L–1 for arsenic and 0.004 µg L–1 for antimony, and the detection limits (3σ) were 0.015 µg L–1 for arsenic and 0.020 µg L–1 for antimony. The proposed method was applied to the determination of arsenic and antimony in several water samples with satisfactory results.