Determination of Germanium and Tellurium in Geological Samples by A Self-developed Hydride Generation Device Paired with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer

Abstract

Hydride generation paired with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) can reduce the matrix effect and interference of polyatomic ions. In this study, one self-made hydride generation device coupled with ICP-MS was developed for the determination of scattered elements, Ge and Te, in geological samples. A Y-shaped connection pipe is used to introduce acid, alkali and the sample into a multiple-joint reactor. After the reaction is complete, the mixture of liquid and gas is separated by self-designed gas-liquid separator. Finally, the gaseous hydrides along with the carrier gas enter the plasma. In this experiment, 20% HCl and 2% KBH4 (0.1% KOH medium) were used as the hydride generation reaction system and the carrier gas flow rate was set to 0.95 L/min to keep high sensitivity and stability. The relative standard deviations of Ge and Te signal intensity for 20 times continuous determination are 8.3% and 2.1%, respectively. The residual Ge and Te in ICP-MS can be cleaned up within 200 s. The detection limits of this method are 0.007 μg/g and 0.006 μg/g for Ge and Te, respectively. Moreover, the detection limit of Te for this method is lower than that of Te (0.1 μg/g) determined by ICP-MS directly after four-acid digestion. Therefore, this method can be used to gain accurate results for Ge and Te contents in geological samples.

Keywords

• self-developed hydride generation device
• inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry
• geological samples
• scattered elements
• germanium
• tellurium