Highly sensitive determination of mercury by improved liquid cathode glow discharge with the addition of chemical modifiers.

The sample introduction system of early miniaturized liquid cathode glow discharge (LCGD) was improved, and then LCGD was used as an excitation source of atomic emission spectrometry (AES) for the detection of mercury in water samples. The effects of chemical modifiers, such as ionic surfactants and low molecular weight organic substances, on emission intensities of Hg were investigated. The results showed that the addition of 4% methanol and 0.

Liquid Cathode Glow Discharge as an Excitation Source for the Analysis of Complex Water Samples with Atomic Emission Spectrometry.

A liquid cathode glow discharge (LCGD) was developed as a low-power and miniaturized excitation source of atomic emission spectrometry (AES) for the determination of K, Na, Ca, and Mg in water samples from rivers and lakes. The discharge stability and parameter influencing the analytical performance of LCGD-AES were systematically examined. Moreover, the measurement results of water samples using LCGD-AES were verified by ion chromatography (IC).