ICP-MS determination of Pt, Pd and Rh in airborne and road dust after tellurium coprecipitation

A method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of Pd, Pt and Rh (PGE) in environmental airborne and road dust samples by tellurium coprecipitation and ICP-MS. The Te coprecipitation was applied after digestion of the sample with aqua regia-HF in a microwave oven. This separation method removes more than 95% of the elements producing mass interference in PGE determination by ICP-MS. The methodology was validated with reference road dust samples CW7 and CW8. The detection limits are 0.3, 0.6 and 0.8 pg m(-3) for Pt, Pd and Rh in airborne particulate matter, and 1, 1 and 0.4 ng g(-1) for Pt, Pd and Rh in road dust. Application of the isotopic dilution method for Pt and Pd after their coprecipitation improves the results obtained for road dust samples. Rh (monoisotopic element) analysis was carried out by external calibration after Te coprecipitation.