A procedure for the determination of small amounts increases the sensitivity of the boron determination. of boron in fertilizers and related compounds byThe detection limit is 1 p.p.m. boron with a good atomic absorption spectrophotometry is described.signal-to-noise ratio. The working concentrationThe boron is complexed and extracted from aqueous range in solution is 0 to 100 p.p.m. boron with a acid solution with 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol in chlorospsitivity of 1.5 p.p.m. per 1 % absorption at 2497.7form. This separation decreases the amount of A. Interfering ions were considered and their effects interferences common to atomic absorption and were found to be negligible. everal general methods for the determination of boron described by Boltz et af. (1958) and Nemodruk and S Karalova (1 965) were investigated by this laboratory.More specific procedures as those of Jackson (1958), Borland et af. (1967), and the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (1965) were also explored. None of the above methods, however, proved as versatile and reproducible for our purposes as the atomic absorption method describedbelow. An earlier form of a hollow-cathode boron source lamp was described by the Perkin-Elmer Corporation, but this lamp did not prove satisfactory for concentrations of boron less than 50 p.p.m. Recently, however, Perkin-Elmer introduced a n improved hollow-cathode boron lamp which produced a more stable signal. This boron tube allowed a detection limit of 10 p.p.m. at a 1OX scale expansion in aqueous solutions. Because of possible refractive complexes similar to those described by Perkin-Elmer (1966), and low boron content of our compounds, we found it necessary to employ a n organic solvent system to increase sensitivity and decrease refractive interferences. This paper describes the procedures for preparing and analyzing fertilizers which contain varying amounts of boron. EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS AND OPERATING CONDITIONS. The PerkinElmer Atomic Absorption, Model 303, Spectrophotometer was used for all tests. The shielded form of the hollowcathode source lamp (Perkin-Elmer Corp. lamp number 303-6015) for boron was employed at 30 mA of source current.A wavelength setting of approximately 2500 A in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum and a slit setting of four were used. A 2-inch nitrous oxide burner head was mounted in the conventional assembly. Burner height and alignment to the signal beam were adjusted to give maximum absorption with a 100-p.p.m. boron standard solution. Optimum sensitivity was obtained with a nitrous oxide flow of 21 liters per minute and a n acetylene flow of approximately 12 liters per Present address,