Simple Nitrogen-Purged Optical System for Atmospheric Pressure Helium Microwave Induced Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry in the Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectral Region

Abstract

A simple nitrogen-purged optical system has been developed to measure spectral lines in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) region by microwave induced plasma atomic emission spectrometry (MIP-AES). For this purpose, both a monochromator and an optical path between an MIP source and an entrance slit of a spectometer are purged with nitrogen to reduce light absorption by oxygen. This system allows measurement of the emission lines in a VUV spectral region between 170 and 190nm. This system has been successfully coupled with a continuous-flow iodine generation technique as a means of sample introduction into an at-mospheric pressure He-MIP for the determination of iodine by AES in the VUV region of the spectrum.