Efficient generation of volatile cadmium species using Ti(III) and Ti(IV) and application to determination of cadmium by cold vapor generation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CVG-ICP-MS)

•Titanium ions were utilized for the first time as catalytic additives for cadmium vapor generation.•Ti(III) and Ti(IV) enhanced generation of Cd vapor significantly with KCN.•Sensitivity was improved by 40-fold with Ti(III) and 35-fold with Ti(IV).•Method detection limits were as low as 3.2 ng L− 1 for 111Cd by ICP-MS.•The methods exhibit high tolerance to chemical interferences.

In this study, a highly efficient chemical vapor generation (CVG) approach is reported for determination of cadmium (Cd). Titanium (III) and titanium (IV) were investigated for the first time as catalytic additives along with thiourea, L-cysteine and potassium cyanide (KCN) for generation of volatile Cd species. Both Ti(III) and Ti(IV) provided the highest enhancement with KCN. The improvement with thiourea was marginal (ca. 2-fold), while L-cysteine enhanced signal slightly only with Ti(III) in H2SO4. Optimum CVG conditions were 4% (v/v) HCl + 0.03 M Ti(III) + 0.16 M KCN and 2% (v/v) HNO3 + 0.03 M Ti(IV) + 0.16 M KCN with a 3% (m/v) NaBH4 solution. The sensitivity was improved about 40-fold with Ti(III) and 35-fold with Ti(IV). A limit of detection (LOD) of 3.2 ng L− 1 was achieved with Ti(III) by CVG-ICP-MS. The LOD with Ti(IV) was 6.4 ng L− 1 which was limited by the blank signals in Ti(IV) solution. Experimental evidence indicated that Ti(III) and Ti(IV) enhanced Cd vapor generation catalytically; for best efficiency mixing prior to reaction with NaBH4 was critical. The method was highly robust against the effects of transition metal ions. No significant suppression was observed in the presence of Co(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) up to 1.0 μg mL− 1. Among the hydride forming elements, no interference was observed from As(III) and Se(IV) at 0.5 μg mL− 1 level. The depressive effects from Pb(II) and Sb(III) were not significant at 0.1 μg mL− 1 while those from Bi(III) and Sn(II) were marginal. The procedures were validated with determination of Cd by CVG-ICP-MS in a number certified reference materials, including Nearshore seawater (CASS-4), Bone ash (SRM 1400), Dogfish liver (DOLT-4), Mussel tissue (SRM 2976) and Domestic Sludge (SRM 2781).