ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

AIM: Quantitative analysis of chemical elements using absorption of optical radiation.

APPARATUS: AAS GBC 932,hollow cathode lamps, standard solutions, sample etc

WORKING PRINCIPLE: Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy is an analytical technique that

measures the concentrations of elements. It makes use of the absorption of light by these
elements in order to measure their concentration.AAS quantifies the absorption of ground
state atoms in the gaseous state. The atoms absorb ultraviolet or visible light and make
transitions to higher electronic energy levels. The concentration is determined from the
amount of absorption.

PROCEDURE:
1. Switch on the air supply and set the pressure to be below 15 psi.
2. Switch on the apparatus and also the flame.
3. Select an element to be found in the sample and fit its respective hollow cathode lamp
in the instrument.
4. In the software, select the fuel oxidant pair, element of interest, lamp current of 4mA,
method to be used and number of standards to be measured.
5. A blank sample is first measured and then absorbance of standard samples of 2ppm,
4ppm, 6ppm, 8ppm, 10 ppm are measured.
6. A calibration graph is then obtained.
7. Now, a sample of unknown concentration is put and its absorbance is measured.
8. From the calibration curve, the concentration of the sample is calculated.
OBSERVATION TABLE:
Sample
Concentration (ppm) Absorbance(abs)
No.

OBSERVATION: ELEMENT TO BE DETERMINED :COPPER (Cu)

Sample
Concentration (ppm) Absorbance (abs)
No.
1 0.04 0.002

2 2 0.11

3 4 0.225

4 6 0.329
 5 8 0.423

6 10 0.545

7 0.179(unknown)

GRAPH:
Plot a graph between absorbance on Y AXIS and concentration (ppm) on X AXIS.

0.6

0.5
Absorbance(Abs)

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Concentration(ppm)

SAMPLE CALCULATIONS:

(0.545−0.329)
Slope of line (m)=
(10−6)

= 0.054
For straight line,
y = mx
0.054
∴ x = 0.179 = 3.02 ppm

RESULTS: The amount /concentration of Cu present in the sample is 3.02 ppm.