Analytical Sciences


Abstract − Analytical Sciences, 15(3), 265 (1999).

Sonic Spray Nebulizer for Inductively Coupled PlasmaAtomic Emission Spectrometry
Min HUANG * , Hisao KOJIMA, Atsumu HIRABAYASHI andHideaki KOIZUMI
Central Research Laboratory,Hitachi Ltd., Higashi-Koigakubo, Kokubunji, Tokyo 185-8601, Japan
A novel nebulizer called a sonic spray nebulizer(SSN) was developed to introduce microliter sample solution for ICP-AESwith a high nebulization efficiency. At a sample uptake rate of 50 mlmin-1, the detection limit of ICP-AES with the SSN is comparableto that with a conventional concentric nebulizer (CCN) at a typical sampleuptake rate of 850 ml min-1. The absolute sensitivity of the SSNwas improved by an average factor of 13, compared to that of the CCN. TheSSN system is capable of introducing a sample solution at a rate as low as1 ml min-1 with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of about 2%;therefore, the SSN nebulizer should be very useful for introducingbiological or other samples in very limited volumes. (Keywords: Nebulizer, microliter sample introduction, inductivelycoupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry)