Speciation of mercury by hydride generation ultraviolet atomization-atomic fluorescence spectrometry without chromatographic separation

A novel ultraviolet (UV) atomization atomic fluorescence spectrometry (UV-AFS) without chromatographic separation was developed for quantitative speciation analysis of mercury (inorganic mercury (Hg2+) and methylmercury (MeHg+)) in food samples. In the proposed method, with 0.1% (m/v) KBH4 used as a reductant, inorganic mercury was measured by using the non-ultraviolet radiation mode. However, under the ultraviolet atomization, the volatile MeHg+ hydride (MeHgH) generated by KBH4 can be transformed to elemental mercury vapor, and total Hg (MeHg and Hg2+) was detected in this UV atomization mode. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) were found to be 0.015 and 0.081 mg L−1, for Hg2+ and MeHg+. And the relative standard deviations (RSDs) (n = 11) were 2.4% and 0.4%, respectively. Spiked environmental water samples including seafood, fruits and vegetables were determined and satisfactory recoveries were obtained for MeHg+ and Hg2+ detection.