Strontium mono-chloride — A new molecule for the determination of chlorine using high-resolution graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry and direct solid sample analysis

•The spectrum of the SrCl molecule was calculated on a theoretical basis and found very close to the predicted wavelength.•It is the first time that the spectrum of the SrCl molecule is described and used analytically for the determination of Cl.•No spectral interferences were observed as the absorption band of the SrCl molecule is in the visible range of the spectrum.•Aqueous standard solution can be used for calibration for the direct solid sample analysis of solid biological samples.

A new method has been developed for the determination of chlorine in biological reference materials using high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (HR-CS GF MAS) of the strontium mono-chloride (SrCl) molecule and direct solid sample analysis. The use of the SrCl molecule for high-temperature MAS was not described up to now in the literature. Preliminary time-dependent density functional theory calculations of the SrCl structure were carried out in order to obtain reasonable estimates of the absorption spectrum of the target molecule. The calculations, which were carried out at BHandHLyp/def2-QZVP level of theory, proved a very accurate and inexpensive way to get information about the spectrum of the SrCl molecule, which enabled us to perform the Cl determination with good sensitivity and specificity. The molecular absorption of the SrCl molecule has been measured using the wavelength at 635.862 nm, and zirconium and palladium have been evaluated as the chemical modifiers in order to increase the sensitivity of the gaseous SrCl molecule generated in the graphite furnace. The pyrolysis and vaporization temperatures were 600 °C and 2300 °C, respectively. Accuracy and precision of the method have been evaluated using biological certified reference materials of both animal and plant origins, showing good agreement with the informed and certified values. Limit of detection and characteristic mass were 1.0 and 2.2 ng, respectively. The results found using HR-CS GF MAS were in agreement (95% confidence level) compared to those obtained by electrothermal vaporization-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.