Concentration Of Copper And Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

A In this experiment, the determination of the concentration of zinc and copper in unknown # 2031 was done through standard addition and atomic absorption spectroscopy. Atomic absorption spectroscopy is a process that involves atomizing the analyte sample once it is subjected to a flame. In this atomization process, the analyte sample becomes vaporized before solidifying into atoms where it becomes atomized (Harris, 454-455). Furthermore, depending on the lamp utilized in the experiment, the hollow cathode lamp would be in this case coated with zinc or copper. The lamp would then be subjected to argon or neon that can produce an emission of light. The emission of light would be initiated by the ionization of the neon or argon gas as the voltage is

As voltage increases, the atomized analyte would be subjected to the ground state as the emission of radiation occurs (Desharnais and Skinner, 12). The emission of radiation would be how the analyte sample absorbs the radiation in the light spectrum. In utilizing different characteristic wavelengths for copper and zinc at 324.75 nm and 213.86 nm respectively, the atomic emission intensity of the analytes was observed. In order to ensure that spectral interference does not occur, it is often ideal to select appropriate wavelengths for the samples. Since the unknown aqueous solution has a mixture of components, the spectral interference could be result of signals of copper and zinc being overlapped. Therefore the absorption bands would not be sharp enough for distinction of the copper or zinc elements. In choosing different wavelengths, the element detected can be observed with better resolution and the interference of the flame can be accounted for with background correction (Harris, 467). The physical process of this occurrence is atomic absorption as the emission intensity is recorded for each