Interference-Free Determination of REEs in Electronic Waste Using ICP Optical Emission Spectroscopy

Recently, the demand for REEs （rare earth elements） has been heavily increasing, as they are used in many high-tech products （e.g., because of their specific magnetic behavior）. As a result, the supply situation for REEs is worsening and the world market is depending on Chinese exports, so that it may be worthwhile to recycle e-waste （electronic waste） in European countries. This article describes an analytical method to analyze REEs in different kinds of e-waste with the help of a simultaneous ICP-OES （ICP optical emission spectrometer）. The task is challenging because samples show significant differences in terms of major, minor and trace element concentrations. Depending on the field of application, the level of matrix elements and target elements differs completely, resulting in a wide variety of spectral interferences. The method presented in this article allows an accurate quantification of REEs as well as a high sample throughput. In addition to REEs, other elements of economic interest can be determined in the same way. The development of a sample preparation process is another important issue and considered as well.

Detection of the spatiotemporal field of a single-shot terahertz pulse based on spectral holography

According to electro-optical sampling theory, we propose a new method to detect the spatiotemporal field of a single- shot terahertz pulse by spectral holography for the first time. The single-shot terahertz pulse is coupled into a broadened chirped femtosecond pulse according to electro-optical sampling theory in the detecting system. Then the reference wave and the signal wave are split by Dammann grating and spread into the interference band-pass filter. The filtered sub-waves are at different central-frequencies because of the different incident angles. These sub-waves at different central-frequencies interfere to form sub-holograms, which are recorded in a single frame of a charge coupled device （CCD）. The sub-holograms are numerically processed, and the spatiotemporal field distribution of the original terahertz pulse is reconstructed. The computer simulations verify the feasibility of the proposed method.

Quantification of Trace Amounts of Impurities in High Purity Cobalt by High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

An analytical method using high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （HR-ICP-MS） for rapid simultaneous determination of Be, Mg, Al, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Se, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, Pt, Au and Pb in high purity cobalt was described. Sample digestions were performed in closed microwave vessels using HNO3 and HCl. The matrix effects due to the presence of excess HCl and Co were evaluated. The usefulness of high mass resolution for overcoming some spectral interference was demonstrated. The optimum conditions for the determination was tested and discussed. Correction for matrix effects, Sc, Rh and Bi were used as internal standards. The detection limits is 0.003-0.57 μg/g, the recovery ratio is 92.2%-111.2%, and the RSD is less than 3.6%. The method is accurate, quick and convenient. It has been applied to the determination of trace impurities in high purity cobalt with satisfactory results.

Determination of micro yttrium in an ytterbium matrix by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and wavelet transform

In the determination of trace yttrium (Y) in an ytterbium (Yb) matrix byinductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), the most prominent line ofyttrium, Y 371.030 nm line, suffers from strong interference due to an emission line of ytterbium.In mis work, a method based on wavelet transform was proposed for the spectral interferencecorrection. Haar wavelet was selected as the mother wavelet. The discrete detail after the thirddecomposition, D3, was chosen for quantitative analysis based on the consideration of bothseparation degree and peak height. The linear correlation coefficient between the height of the leftpositive peak in D3 and the concentration of Y was calculated to be 0.9926. Six synthetic sampleswere analyzed, and the recovery for yttrium varied from 96.3 percent to 110.0 percent. The amountsof yttrium in three ytterbium metal samples were determined by the proposed approach with an averagerelative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.5 percent, and the detection limit for yttrium was 0.016percent. This novel correction technique is fast and convenient, since neither complicated modelassumption nor time-consuming iteration is required. Furthermore, it is not affected by thewavelength drift inherent in monochromators that will severely reduce the accuracy of resultsobtained by some chemometric methods.

Trace amounts of impurities in electrolytic manganese metal by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

An analytical method, using sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （SF-ICP-MS） for rapid simultaneous determination of Be, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Sn, Sb, Pb and Bi in electrolytic manganese metal, was described. At the beginning, the samples were decomposed by HNO3 and H2504, and then analyzed by SF-ICP-MS. Most of the spectral interferences could be avoided by measuring in different mass resolution modes. The matrix effects due to the excess of sulfuric acid and Mn were evaluated. Correction of matrix effects was conducted by using the internal standard elements. The optimum condition for the determination was investigated and discussed. The detection limit is in the range of 0.001-0.169 gg/L. The current method is applied to the determination of trace impurities in electrolytic manganese metal. And experiments show that good results can be obtained much faster, more accurately and conveniently by current method.

Direct Determination of Trace Impurities in High Purity Zinc Oxide by High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

The determination of trace impurities in high purity zinc oxide by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （ HR-ICP-MS ） was investigated. To overcome some poteutially problematic spectral iuterference, measurements were acquired in both middle and high resolution modes. The matrix effects due to the presence of excess HCl and zinc were evaluated. The optimum conditions for the determination were tested and discussed. The standard addition method was employed for quantitative analysis. The detection limits ranged from 0.02μg/ g to 6 μg/ g depending on the elements. The experimental resalts for the determination of Na, Mg, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, Cd, Sb and Pb in several high purity zinc oxide powders were presented.

Direct Determination of Rare Earth Impurities in High Purity Europium Oxide by ICP-MS

A novel inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method for direct determination of trace rare earth impurities in high purity europium oxide (Eu_2O_3) was developed. The spectral interference,matrix effect,instrument parameters fluctuation were investigated and the optimized experimental conditions were established. Under the selected conditions,the detection limits of the method are 3～7 ng·L (-1),the RSD is varied between 2.1%～8.4%,and the percentage recovery is ranged from 90% to 113% for the analytes. The solid detection limit for gross amount of 13 rare earth impurities is 0.19 μg·g (-1) when the matrix (Eu) concentration of 0.1 mg·ml (-1) was chosen. Compared with the reported methods in the literature,this method has several attractive features: simple,small sample amount required,no internal standard and matrix matching requirements.

Determination of Trace Elements in High Purity Gold by High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Trace elements were determined in high purity gold by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （HR-ICP-MS）. Sample were decomposed by aqua regia. To overcome some potentially problematic spectra/ interference, measurements were acquired in both medium and high resolution modes. The matrix effects due to the presence of excessive HCl and Au were evaluated. The optimum conditions for the determination was tested and discussed. The standard addition method was employed for quantitative analysis. The detection limits range from 0.01ug/g to 0.28ug/g depending on the elements. The method is accurate, quick and convenient. It has been applied to the determination of trace elements in high purity gold with satisfactory results.

Tracing overlapping biological signals in mid-infrared using colonic tissues as a model system

AIMTo understand the interference of carbohydrates absorbance in nucleic acids signals during diagnosis of malignancy using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.METHODSWe used formalin fixed paraffin embedded colonic tissues to obtain infrared (IR) spectra in the mid IR region using a bruker II IR microscope with a facility for varying the measurement area by varying the aperture available. Following this procedure we could measure different regions of the crypt circles containing different biochemicals. Crypts from 18 patients were measured. Circular crypts with a maximum diameter of 120 μm and a lumen of about 30 μm were selected for uniformity. The spectral data was analyzed using conventional and advanced computational methods.RESULTSAmong the various components that are observed to contribute to the diagnostic capabilities of FTIR, the carbohydrates and nucleic acids are prominent. However there are intrinsic difficulties in the diagnostic capabilities due to the overlap of major absorbance bands of nucleic acids, carbohydrates and phospholipids in the mid-IR region. The result demonstrates colonic tissues as a biological system suitable for studying interference of carbohydrates and nucleic acids under ex vivo conditions. Among the diagnostic parameters that are affected by the absorbance from nucleic acids is the RNA/DNA ratio, dependent on absorbance at 1121 cm-1 and 1020 cm-1 that is used to classify the normal and cancerous tissues especially during FTIR based diagnosis of colonic malignancies. The signals of the nucleic acids and the ratio (RNA/DNA) are likely increased due to disappearance of interfering components like carbohydrates and phosphates along with an increase in amount of RNA.CONCLUSIONThe present work, proposes one mechanism for the observed changes in the nucleic acid absorbance in mid-IR during disease progression (carcinogenesis).

Compilation of Q－data and Simulation of Q－spectra in Rare Earth Elements Analysis by Using ICP－AES

This paper developed a method,called compilation of Q-data and simulation of Q-spectra,combining experimental data with the aid of a microcomputer to predict and correct spectral interferences in rare-earth elements analysis by using ICP-AES. Raw spectral data of each element were obtained through experiments, followed by removing noise with Kalman smoothing and spectral averaging, and correcting the shifts of wavelength. These processed data were eventually transformed into Q-data and used in spectral simulation and intenference correction. Some fundamental problems in simulation and correction were investigated and the results indicates that Q-data are accurate enough for the correction of spectral interferences when the interferences are not too strong, and that spectral simulation is practicable in routine analysis. It is a convenient, rapid and accurate way to deal with spectral interferences in REE analvsis.