Determination of available and carbonate antimony (Sb) in soil by Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry

Abstract

Antimony (Sb) is a toxic and potentially carcinogenic metalloid element. The toxicity of Sb in the environment strongly relies on its speciation. It is necessary to investigate the speciation and content of antimony in soil in order to understand better the real risk associated with Sb in the environment. This study developed water bath heating and soaking-AFS methods to determine the available and carbonate antimony in soil. Through analysis and mutual verification experiments in three different laboratories, the repeatability and reproducibility in the precision experiment were less than 3.44, the average recovery rate was more than 98.1%. These methods were accurate, reproducible and effective for detecting the content of available and carbonate antimony in soil.