Spectroscopy detection limits

The section on Spectroscopy has been expanded to include ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy. Retained sections have been thoroughly revised in particular, the tables on electronic emission and atomic absorption spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and infrared spectroscopy. Detection limits are listed for the elements when using flame emission, flame atomic absorption, electrothermal atomic absorption, argon ICP, and flame atomic fluorescence. Nuclear magnetic resonance embraces tables for the nuclear properties of the elements, proton chemical shifts and coupling constants, and similar material for carbon-13, boron-11, nitrogen-15, fluorine-19, silicon-29, and phosphorus-31. 

Knight CTG, SD Kimade (1999) Silicon-29 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy detection limits. A a/ Chem 71 265-267. 

Table 8.4 Atomic spectroscopy detection limits (micrograms/litre) (from Perkin Elmer, Guide to Techniques and Applications of Atomic Spectroscopy, 1988)...

Tabie A1 Representative Atomic Spectroscopy Detection Limits (p,g/L)... 

Photoacoustic sensors (PAS) Quantification of air contaminants by PAS involves the use of UV or IR radiation to quantify air contaminants. It involves the absorption of a pulse of light energy by a molecule and the subsequent detection of a pressure wave generated by heat energy released by the molecule upon its return to the ground state. Photoacoustic spectroscopy analysis is nondestructive, can be done in real time, and can be a few orders of magnitude more sensitive than conventional UV-vis spectroscopy. Detection limits are chemical-specific and are reported to be between 0.001 and 1 ppm. 

Reaction conditions , [catalyst] = 0.12 mmol Mo [tBHP] = 10 mmol propene = 238 mmol 1,2-dichloroethane = 22 ml 400 spi He at 80°C. Reaction Time = 1 h. Propylene oxide yield determined as % of BHP consumed, i.e. 10 mmol = 100%. Reaction solution assayed for Mo using ASS (atomic absorption spectroscopy). Detection limit 0.5 ppm. Expressed as a percentage of Mo originally present on resin. 

X-ray spectroscopy Analytical method by which a sample is irradiated with X-rays, characteristic radiation being emitted after scattering from the specimen. The detection limits for various elements are of the ordering cm. ... 

Atomic absorption spectroscopy is more suited to samples where the number of metals is small, because it is essentially a single-element technique. The conventional air—acetylene flame is used for most metals however, elements that form refractory compounds, eg, Al, Si, V, etc, require the hotter nitrous oxide—acetylene flame. The use of a graphite furnace provides detection limits much lower than either of the flames. A cold-vapor-generation technique combined with atomic absorption is considered the most suitable method for mercury analysis (34). 

Atomic absorption spectroscopy is an alternative to the colorimetric method. Arsine is stiU generated but is purged into a heated open-end tube furnace or an argon—hydrogen flame for atomi2ation of the arsenic and measurement. Arsenic can also be measured by direct sample injection into the graphite furnace. The detection limit with the air—acetylene flame is too high to be useful for most water analysis. 

With modern detectors and electronics most Enei -Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) systems can detect X rays from all the elements in the periodic table above beryllium, Z= 4, if present in sufficient quantity. The minimum detection limit (MDL) for elements with atomic numbers greater than Z = 11 is as low as 0.02% wt., if the peaks are isolated and the spectrum has a total of at least 2.5 X 10 counts. In practice, however, with EDS on an electron microscope, the MDL is about 0.1% wt. because of a high background count and broad peaks. Under conditions in which the peaks are severely overlapped, the MDL may be only 1—2% wt. For elements with Z < 10, the MDL is usually around 1—2% wt. under the best conditions, especially in electron-beam instruments. 

Atomic absorption spectroscopy of VPD solutions (VPD-AAS) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) offer similar detection limits for metallic impurities with silicon substrates. The main advantage of TXRF, compared to VPD-AAS, is its multielement capability AAS is a sequential technique that requires a specific lamp to detect each element. Furthermore, the problem of blank values is of little importance with TXRF because no handling of the analytical solution is involved. On the other hand, adequately sensitive detection of sodium is possible only by using VPD-AAS. INAA is basically a bulk analysis technique, while TXRF is sensitive only to the surface. In addition, TXRF is fast, with an typical analysis time of 1000 s turn-around times for INAA are on the order of weeks. Gallium arsenide surfaces can be analyzed neither by AAS nor by INAA. 

PIXE detection limits for surface layers on bulk specimens are sufficiendy low to permit calibradon of true surfe.ce analysis techniques (e.g., Auger electron spectroscopy). 

Laser ionization mass spectrometry or laser microprobing (LIMS) is a microanalyt-ical technique used to rapidly characterize the elemental and, sometimes, molecular composition of materials. It is based on the ability of short high-power laser pulses (-10 ns) to produce ions from solids. The ions formed in these brief pulses are analyzed using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The quasi-simultaneous collection of all ion masses allows the survey analysis of unknown materials. The main applications of LIMS are in failure analysis, where chemical differences between a contaminated sample and a control need to be rapidly assessed. The ability to focus the laser beam to a diameter of approximately 1 mm permits the application of this technique to the characterization of small features, for example, in integrated circuits. The LIMS detection limits for many elements are close to 10 at/cm, which makes this technique considerably more sensitive than other survey microan-alytical techniques, such as Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) or Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA). Additionally, LIMS can be used to analyze insulating sam-... 

The material evaporated by the laser pulse is representative of the composition of the solid, however the ion signals that are actually measured by the mass spectrometer must be interpreted in the light of different ionization efficiencies. A comprehensive model for ion formation from solids under typical LIMS conditions does not exist, but we are able to estimate that under high laser irradiance conditions (>10 W/cm ) the detection limits vary from approximately 1 ppm atomic for easily ionized elements (such as the alkalis, in positive-ion spectroscopy, or the halogens, in negative-ion spectroscopy) to 100—200 ppm atomic for elements with poor ion yields (for example, Zn or As). 

Greater range of detection systems to which the desorbed gas can be subjected (e.g. chromatography, infra-red and ultraviolet spectroscopy, colorimetry) Limitations Certain resins undergo degradation even below 250°C Test sample may be thermally unstable Not all compounds readily desorb ... 

A number of different methods to monitor the amount of methylimidazole left in a final ionic liquid are known. NMR spectroscopy is used by most academic groups, but may have a detection limit of about 1 mol%. The photometric analysis described by Holbrey, Seddon, and Wareing has the advantage of being a relatively quick method that can be performed with standard laboratory equipment [13]. This makes it particularly suitable for monitoring of the methylimidazole content during commercial ionic liquid synthesis. The method is based on the formation and colorimetric analysis of the intensely colored complex of l-methylimidazole with cop-per(II) chloride. 

Shimizu and Ohtsu [69] have proposed a chemical method to determine head-to-head structures in PVC. Mitani et al. [70] found 2.5-7.0 head-to-head structures per 1,000 monomer units, increasing with the polymerization temperature. It has not been possible to detect internal head-to-head structure by C-NMR spectroscopy with the detection limit of 2 per 1,000 monomer units [71]. Starnes et al. [71] found evidence for the absence of neighboring methylene groups by C-NMR spectroscopy. However, the proposed reaiTangement of head-to-head units at the radical chain ends resulting in chloromethyl branches [Eq. (6)] would partially explain their consumption during polymerization and their absence in the final product. 

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