Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy

This textbook is an outgrowth of the author's experience in teaching a course, primarily to graduate students in chemistry, that included the subject matter presented in this book. The increasing use and importance of atomic spectroscopy as an analytical tool are quite evident to anyone involved in elemental analysis. A number of books are available that may be considered treatises in the various fields that use atomic spectra for analytical purposes. These include areas such as arc-spark emission spectroscopy, flame emission spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy. Other books are available that can be catalogued as 'methods' books. Most of these books serve well the purpose for which they were written but are not well adapted to serve as basic textbooks in their fields. This book is intended to fill the aforementioned gap and to present the basic principles and instrumentation involved in analytical atomic spectro- scopy. To meet this objective, the book includes an elementary treatment of the origin of atomic spectra, the instrumentation and accessory equipment used in atomic spectroscopy, and the principles involved in arc-spark emission, flame emission, atomic absorption, and atomic fluorescence. The chapters in the book that deal with the methods of atomic spectro- scopy discuss such things as the basic principles involved in the method, the instrumentation requirements, variations of instrumentation, advantages and disadvantages of the method, problems of interferences, detection limits, the collection and processing of the data, and possible applications.