ICP-AES Determination of 13 RE′s Present as Impurities in High Purity Yttrium (+Europium) Oxide

Thirteen rare earth elements present as impurities in the high-purity yttrium (+europium) oxide were determined directly by ICP-AES. One (1.000 0)g of the Y(Eu)2O3 sample was dissolved in 10 mL of conc. HCl and diluted quantitatively to 100 mL, which was used for ICP-AES analysis. Analytical spectral lines of the 13 RE elements were selected and the working parameters of the instrument were optimized and given as follows: ① flow-tate of cooling gas: 12 L·min-1; ② flow-rate of sheathing gas: 0.20 L·min-1; ③ flow-rate of carrier gas: 3.0 L·min-1; ④ frequency of the RF high-frequency generator: 40.68 MHz, with power of 1.1 kW; and ⑤ height of observation: 10-12 mm. Recovery and precision of the method were tested by standard addition method with 11 determinations, giving values of recovery in the range of 78.5%-99.6%, and of RSD′s ranged from 0.02% to 0.94%.