title: Determination of iodine and bromine in coal and atmospheric particles by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
abstract: Bromine and iodine in atmospheric particles or coal can cause environmental problems such as destruction of ozone in the atmosphere; therefore, the presence of these compounds has recently received increased attention. Here, a rapid and reliable method for the simultaneous determination of total bromine and iodine using ICP-MS analysis is described. Samples were dissolved in mixtures of 5 mL of HNO(3) and 2 mL of H(2)O(2) in a high pressure microwave digester. The solution was then oxidized by per-sulfate (Na(2)S(2)O(8)) in addition to a small amount of silver nitrate, after which the total bromine and iodine were measured simultaneously by ICP-MS. The signal memory effects of bromine and iodine during analysis were effectively decreased by washing with a new mixture agent (2% alcohol acidic solution, pH 1-2 adjusted with HCl). The detection limits for bromine and iodine using this method were about 3.2 microg L(-1) and 1.1 microg L(-1), respectively. Additionally, the spike recoveries were between 78.7% and 121% for bromine and iodine analysis, while the relative standard deviations ranged from 4.3% to 9.7%, and from 1.5% to 3.4% for bromine and iodine, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the method described here is suitable for the analysis of micro-amounts of bromine and iodine in atmospheric particles and coal samples.
authors.affiliation: Technique Test Lab., Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, No. 1208, Minsheng Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai 200135, China. mxingsun@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Mingxing
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yunchuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Biwen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu