CORRECTIONS OF SPECTRAL INTERFERENCES BY A SEQUENTIAL INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA SPECTROMETER WITH AN INTELLIGENT WAVELENGTH CALIBRATING DEVICE

The characteristics of a sequential inductively coupled plasma spectro meter with an intelligent wavelength calibrating device (ICP-IWC) used to correct spectral interferences were investigated and compared with that of a, very old multi-channel inductively coupled plasma atomic e mission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The computer intelligent wavelength-ca librating program used in this sequential ICP-IWC spectrometer is disc ussed. The analytical results of eight elemental components of a basic slag standard after spectral interference correction using this instr ument are in good agreement with the certified values and those by the line-profile method. The system does not require 8-10 h pre-heating a s needed with a local thermostat or profiles for every analytical line as in the line-profile method, which indicates that the sequential IC P-IWC spectrometer can avoid and correct the spectral interferences ef fectively by choosing the analytical lines properly and finding the pe aks of the analytical lines precisely. The flexibility of choosing spe ctral lines is a common merit of all kinds of modern sequential ICPs, but the high accuracy of finding out the peaks of spectral lines witho ut the need of a local thermostat or the line-profile method is the un ique merit of the sequential ICP-IWC. It has been proven possible to u se the intelligent wavelength calibrating device in the sequential ICP spectrometer instead of a traditional local thermostat or the line-pr ofile method. The instrument has proven to be quite effective, with th e features of time-saving, safety, simple structure as well as the pro spects of widespread applications. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.