DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATED TRACE-MATRIX- SEPARATION TECHNIQUE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF TRACE-METALS IN PURE TITANIUM AND TITANIUMDIOXIDE

The determination of metal traces in pure titanium with ICP-AES or ICP -MS requires an effective trace-matrix separation technique to elimina te interferences. After digestion in HF and HNO3 the traces can be sep arated from the matrix using a cation exchanger column. A computer con trolled pumping system is used for the automatic control of the proced ure of preconcentration, elution and determination. The method require s a minimum of chemical manipulation and reduces the risk of contamina tion by using only subboiled acids. Recovery rates of more than 90% an d high precision are obtained for 16 analytes. For mast of the element s detection limits in the range of 1 to 10 ng/g titanium can be achiev ed.