Sensitive determination of lead by flame atomic absorption spectrometry improved with branched capillary as hydride generator and without phase separation

The sensitivity of traditional flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) is low for the determination of lead. Therefore, a simple branched capillary was used for hydride generation with air-acetylene FAAS determination of lead in geochemical samples and paint. Using a Y-shaped connector, the sampling capillary of a traditional FAAS instrument was branched, with one branch for introducing the reductant solution, KBH4, and the other for the sample solution, Pb4+. The KBH4 solution and the Pb4+ solution were then merged and mixed inside the reaction capillary and thereafter inside the nebulizer for generating the lead hydride, which, together with the liquid fine droplets, was directly brought into the air-acetylene flame for atomization without gas/liquid separation. The experimental conditions were optimized for best signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). A calibration curve was obtained with a linear dynamic range of up to 1.0 mg L-1 and a correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The limit of detection (LOD) for lead was found to be 0.004 mg L-1, 10 times better than that of traditional FAAS and slightly better than or equivalent to that of the sophisticated inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The improvement in sensitivity and the LOD for lead largely owe to the altered atomization mechanism via hydride generation. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of lead in Geochemical Standard Deposit (GSD) samples and paint samples.