ICP-MS Determination of Trace Amount of Aluminum in Medium and Low Alloy Steels

ICP-MS was applied to the direct determination of trace amount of aluminum in medium and low alloy steels,and analytical parameters of the instrument were optimized.Digestion technique assisted with microwave heating was used in the sample pretreatment with an acid mixture of conc.HNO3,conc.HCl and conc.HF in a ratio of 3 to 1 to 1 by volume.The operation programe and parameters of the microwave oven were described in detail.Detection limit (n=11) of this method was found to be w(Al) 1.9×10-6%.Precision tested at the concentration level of w(Al) 1.4×10-4% gave RSD values of less than 6%.