Evaluation of quartz tubes as atomization cells for gold determination by thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

This work describes the development of a new analytical procedure able to determine gold by thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (TS-FF-AAS) using nickel tubes (NiT) and quartz tubes (QT) as atomization cells. Experiments involving changes in the flow injection operational parameters, reagent concentrations and sizes of the QT were performed in order to optimize sensitivity. Under the same operational conditions, it was observed that the employment of QT increases the sensitivity of gold determination when compared to the nickel tube. Since solutions of highly concentrated hydrochloric acid showed the best performance as carriers, quartz tubes were also preferred due to its greater tolerance to corrosion by mineral acids in comparison to NiT. In addition, changes in the internal diameter of the QT revealed an important improvement in sensitivity for smaller tubes.