Determination of palladium, platinum and rhodium in used automobile catalysts and active pharmaceutical ingredients using high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and direct solid sample analysis

Overall, the methods proposed seem suited for the determination of these analytes in such types of samples, offering a greener and faster alternative that circumvents the traditional problems associated with sample digestion, requiring a small amount of sample only (0.05 mg per replicate for catalysts, and a few milligrams for the pharmaceuticals) and providing sufficient sensitivity to easily comply with regulations. The LODs achieved were 6.5 μg g− 1 (Pd), 8.3 μg g− 1 (Pt) and 9.3 μg g− 1 (Rh) for catalysts, which decreased to 0.08 μg g− 1 (Pd), 0.15 μg g− 1 (Pt) and 0.10 μg g− 1 (Rh) for pharmaceuticals.