title: Determination of sub-ng ml levels of mercury in water by electrolytic deposition and electrothermal atomic-absorption spectrophotometry.
abstract: The determination of trace mercury in water samples by electrolytic deposition and electrothermal atomic-absorption spectrophotometry is described. Traces of mercury in water are preconcentrated by electrolytic reduction and deposition on a platinum wire cathode, which is then put into a graphite cup for direct atomization and measurement. The method is sensitive and simple, with a detection limit of 0.04 ng/ml. Almost all the metal ions commonly found in water samples can be tolerated, because of the selective deposition at controlled potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, East China Normal University, 3663 Chung Shan Road (N), Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: B X
authors.initials: BX
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Y Z
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Fang