Determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in water samples by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry with in-situ trapping in a graphite tube

This work presents results of determinations of inorganic Sb(III)/Sb(V) species and total content of antimony in water samples by the method of atomic absorption spectrometry with hydride generation and in-situ concentration in a graphite tube. The achieved determination limit (3sigma) was 0.014 ng/mL for determination of Sb(III) species and the total content of antimony. Moreover, the paper reports results of antimony determination in samples of mineral and tap water obtained by the method with the analyte concentration on the atomizer (graphite tube) surface. The content of antimony in the samples studied varied in the range from 0.04 ng/mL to 0.44 ng/mL for Sb(III) and from 0.22 ng/mL to 0.62 ng/mL for Sb(V).