Clay and Refractory Materials Slurries in Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry: Effects of Mechanochemical Synthesis on Emission Intensities of Analytes

Abstract

Abstract. The developed work investigated the application of mechanochemical synthesis for promoting reactions in the samples and for synthesizing new compounds for increment of emission intensities of analytes in clays and refractory materials slurries in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry with axial viewing. The hypothesis is that it is possible to generate more volatile compounds during the grinding step and these new compounds will increase the intensities of emission signals for slurries introduced in the plasma. The action of two chemical modifiers, LiBO₂ and Na₂CO₃, added during the grinding step was evaluated. The clays and refractory materials mixed with the chemical modifier were ground for 2 h using a high impact ball mill with a tungsten carbide grinding container and balls. Slurries were prepared by dispersing the modified clays and refractory materials in 10% v v-1 HNO₃ solution and by shaking them in an ultrasonic bath to ensure good dispersion. The compounds produced during the grinding step were characterised by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Both techniques indicated the formation of new compounds in clays and refractory materials by mechanochemical synthesis. Chemical modification effects were evaluated by changes of the emission intensities of Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, P, Si, and Ti. Both modifiers caused increments of sensitivities for all analytes in up to 665% (Na₂CO₃) and 583% (LiBO₂) compared to the emission signals for analytes present in slurries prepared using samples ground without adding modifier.