Improvement of the model for calculation of relative sensitivity coefficients in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Relative sensitivity coefficients (RSCs) were determined for 68 elements in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), It was shown that t he Saha equation gives a rough description of ionization processes in ICP. A dependence of RSCs on the absolute electronegativity of atoms was found. This parameter is substantially affecting the accuracy of RSCs calculation for chemically active elements. Taking into account absolute electronegativ ities of the atoms for the calculation of RSCs, the ion formation processes in ICP-MS could be better described than by using first ionization potenti als. The mean relative systematic error of RSCs calculation using absolute electronegativity was improved to 0.30.