Studying element vaporization and atomization processes in electrothermal atomizers by laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry: Indium, matrix effects

Indium vaporization and atomization processes were studied in a variable-pressure atomizer by laser-excited fluorescence spectrometry for various analyte masses over a wide range of buffer-gas pressures. It was found that the atomization processes are of intricate nature and depend on the element mass, pressure, and heating rate. Based on the data obtained over a wide range of pressures, individual atomization processes were singled out and their parameters were determined. The effects of KCl and CuCl2 matrices on the kinetics and other characteristics of the processes were investigated. Possible mechanisms of indium vaporization and atomization under various experimental conditions and mechanisms of matrix effects on the analytical signals of indium and gallium are discussed.