Atomic spectroscopy provides excellent detection limits for elemental analysis. Traditionally, these instruments have utilized acetylene flames, high temperature furnaces, or plasma sources for the atomization and excitation of samples. More recent efforts involve the use of X-ray fluorescence or lasers for the ablation and excitation of solid materials for elemental investigations. Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES) is a simple and robust method for elemental determination using an electrical discharge. At its current stage of development, GD-OES is commercially available for solid samples, but aqueous media investigations are limited to prototype instrumentation. Arc-spark emission spectroscopy precludes the complex electronics required to produce a stable glow discharge and is commercially available in hand-held instrumentation commonly utilized in metallurgic investigations. The simple nature of producing an electrical arc lends this technique an advantage for field-based measurements, especially if this optical system may be applied to a solution towards environmental investigations. In this work, a high voltage arc was established between a hollow needle and a graphite counter electrode. Termed ArcSpray Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ASOES), the arc established between the flowing solution and counter electrode produces an instantaneous aerosol through which the arc is propagated to produce electronically excited atoms. This work represents an initial proof-of-concept effort towards future field-based arcspray measurements. Using sodium as an initial analyte, the needle/counter electrode chemical makeup, geometry, and polarity were systematically optimized in the work presented.

Arcspray optical emission spectroscopy: Simple and robust method elemental analysis towards field-based measurements

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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