Comparison of atomic absorption, mass and X-ray spectrometry techniques using dissolution-based and solid sampling methods for the determination of silver in polymeric samples

In this work, the capabilities and limitations of solid sampling techniques – laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS), wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WD-XRFS) and solid sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (SS-ETAAS) – for the determination of silver in polymers have been evaluated and compared to those of acid digestion and subsequent Ag determination using pneumatic nebulization ICPMS (PN-ICPMS) or flame AAS (FAAS).In a first stage, two dissolution procedures were examined: conventional acid digestion in a Kjeldahl flask and the combination of dry ashing and microwave-assisted digestion. Accurate results for Ag could be obtained, although occasionally, problems of analyte losses and/or incomplete dissolution were observed.LA-ICPMS shows potential for direct analysis of solid materials, but calibration was found to be difficult. A polypropylene sample was used as standard. This approach provided satisfactory results for other polypropylene samples and even for other types of plastics, provided that the 13C+ signal was used as internal reference, correcting for variations in ablation efficiency. However, the results for polyoxymethylene were overestimated. Similar calibration problems appeared with WD-XRFS, due to differences in absorption efficiency of X-rays. In this case, the accuracy could be improved by using a matrix correction procedure, which however required the matrix composition to be known into sufficient detail. SS-ETAAS, proved to be a fast approach that allowed accurate determination of Ag in polymers using aqueous standard solutions for calibration. Due to the high Ag content and the excellent sensitivity, the use of a 3-field mode Zeeman-effect background correction system was essential for the extension of the working range.