High-Resolution Continuum Source Atomic and Molecular Absorption Spectrometry - A Review

The present article gives an overview over the historic development, the instrumentation, the special features, and the applications of high-resolution continuum source atomic and molecular absorption spectrometry. The most obvious advantage is the need for only one single lamp for all elements and wavelengths, compared to one lamp for each analyte, as is necessary in line source atomic absorption spectrometry. The visibility of the spectral environment of the analytical line at high resolution greatly helps in method development and to avoid spectral interferences. The advanced simultaneous background correction automatically eliminates lamp flicker noise and continuous background absorption. Fine-structured background absorption may be removed using a reference spectrum and a least-squares algorithm. Because any wavelength between 190 nm and 900 nm can be accessed, the same equipment can be used for molecular absorption spectrometry, making possible the determination of non-metals, such as phosphorus, sulfur, and the halogens. Although commercial equipment for this technique has only been available for a few years, the technique has been accepted extremely well, and the number of applications that have been published using this technique has already reached an impressive number.