DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR DETERMINATION OF MERCURY IN TAP WATER AND FISH MUSCLE TISSUE SAMPLES USING Mo-COATED TUNGSTEN-COIL ATOM TRAP COLD VAPOR ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY

Abstract

In this study, a new and low-cost technique for the determination of ultra-trace level of total mercury (T-Hg) was developed by combining a Mo-coated tungsten-coil (W-coil) placed in a quartz tube atomizer for in situ trapping of gaseous mercury with a conventional cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS). The optimum operating conditions of the parameters in the proposed technique were determined experimentally in order to achieve lower detection limits. The analytical results obtained from the developed approach were compared with those obtained from the traditional CV-AAS technique. The developed technique demonstrated a significant 39.7-fold improvement in sensitivity compared to the traditional technique, as expressed by the characteristic concentration (C0). The technique described yielded a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.017 µg L-1 and a relative standard deviation (RSD%) of 3.6% for a capture time of 120 s. The proposed analytical procedure was utilized to determine the concentrations of Hg in certified reference materials, spiked tap water samples and fish muscle tissue samples. The recovery values for the water samples were satisfactory, ranging between 104.9% and 111.3%.