ICP-AES Determination of Si, Fe, Mn and Zn in Silicon Bronze

ICP-AES was applied to the determination of Si, Fe, Mn and Zn in silicon bronze. The sample was dissolved in HCl, HNO3 and HF, and excess of HF was complexed by addition of sat′d. boric acid solution. Spectral lines of 251.61, 238.20, 257.61 and 206.20 nm were selected as analytical lines for Si, Fe, Mn and Zn respectively. Interference due to reagents used was eliminated by making blank test, and the matrix interference of copper was eliminated by the matching method in preparation of santadard working curves. Linearity ranges were obtained between 0.10%-5.00% (for Si), 0.10%-3.00% (for Fe), 0.10%-3.50% (for Mn) and 0.10%-5.00% (for Zn). Values of detection limit (3s) found were 0.39, 0.29, 0.24, 0.45 mg·L-1 for Si, Fe, Mn and Zn respectively. Two standard samples were analyzed by the proposed method, giving values of RSD′s (n=6) less than 0.1%.